Harry Potter: The Second Black
by DwellInDreams1019
Summary: We all know the story of Harry Potter. But what if Sirius Black had a daughter and she went through it all with him. What would happen? Sor. Stone, no pairings for a while. I posted this story before but I edited it. WILL HAVE SEVERAL SEQUELS! Enjoy! :
1. Meet Lydia

**Hello! I'm Erin! I have posted this story before but I've done some serious rewriting because before, in my opinion, it sucked. I like it better this way and this is the one I'll be updating. I'm going to delete the other one though because it gives away something that I decided I wanted to build up to and be a mystery. So yeah, I hope you all enjoy!**

**Disclaimer: I only own Lydia Black and I'm proud of it! ;)**

"Get up!"

My chocolate brown eyes snapped open as Petunia Dursley screamed this and banged outside the cupboard door trying to wake me and my best friend, who was now sitting next to me wide awake, Harry Potter, up.

Sleepily, I mumbled something that even I didn't understand and brushed my pitch black and red streaked hair out of my face and lay back down while Harry put on his round glasses over his emerald green eyes.

Harry glanced back over at me and said quietly, "Time to get up, Lydia." I just nodded and sat back up with great effort. I yawned hugely just as we heard loud footsteps stomping down the stairs above us. These were the footsteps of Harry's obnoxious cousin Dudley Dursley. Harry opened the door of the cupboard only to be pushed back inside by Dudley causing him to almost fall on top of me.

"You all right?" I asked calmly although I was extremely angry. I don't like it when people bully me or my friend.

"Yeah, I'm fine, Lyd," Harry reassured me with a small smile. The anger still did not leave me.

"I really hate that boy," I stated furiously.

"Me too," Harry agreed.

Petunia Dursley came back to our door once again and shouted, "Are you two up yet?! You need to come and cook the bacon!" Harry and I both rolled our eyes in annoyance.

"Yes, Aunt Petunia," Harry replied to her.

"Good!"

Harry turned back to me with a small amused smile on his face. "What?" I asked.

"Sea monkeys?" I tilted my head slightly in confusion as he said this. "That's what you said when you first woke up." Ah, so _that's_ what I mumbled! I smiled.

"Oh yeah. Bad dream. You really don't want to know," I joked. Harry chuckled as we walked out into the kitchen together.

Once we entered the clean kitchen, we immediately heard Vernon Dursley's (Harry's uncle) demanding voice snap at us, "Watch the bacon and make sure it doesn't burn you two!" Harry and I just nodded used to being yelled at by the Dursley family.

"Everything _must _be perfect for my little Dudley's special day!" Petunia almost sung. Harry and I glanced at each other and sighed. Every time Dudley's birthday came along, we were always put to work. Well, at least put to harder work.

"Girl, pour me my coffee!" Vernon demanded to me. "Yes, Dursley." I had always refused to call him _Mr. _Dursley. That pig would never get formal talk out of me, ha! I quickly began to pour the coffee.

Most of you are probably wondering right now about how I got here and why I'm not with my own family. Well, I never knew my family. Harry is the closest I think I'll ever get to having family.

Harry's parents had died when he was younger just as mine disappeared. Where? I don't know. No one ever told me. All the Dursleys ever told me is that they were trouble makers and criminals. They told me that my father was in some kind of prison and my mother ran away. To where? Again, I have no idea. I decided not to question it any farther, but I still wonder each day about them. I wonder who they were and what happened to them.

Anyway, next I thought about myself and my best friend. Both Harry and I are very small and skinny from the lack of food we're given to eat. We are also Dudley's personal and favorite punching bags. Although, he doesn't like to pick on me as much as he does Harry because even though Dudley hates to admit it, I'm tougher than him and he was scared of me and boy, do I love that reality! I absolutely hate it when he picks on Harry though.

Harry and I have a lot in common too. We both never knew our parents. That was a major one. We both each have one very unusual feature about us.

Harry's unusual feature was that he had a thin, lightning-shaped scar on his forehead that he had gotten when he was a baby. Mr. and Mrs. Dursley had told him that when he was little, his parents got in a car crash and he survived with just that scar. I, for one, never believed that story. I would say, "It's not true Harry! I just know it!" But, hey I have no evidence. There is just something about that scar though that's different. It doesn't seem like it would be caused by just an ordinary car crash. Vernon and Petunia rarely talked about Harry's mother, who was Mrs. Dursley's sister, or his father.

My feature is my hair. When Harry and I were both eight, one day I woke up and there was a big, bright red streak on each side of my hair. Sometimes, when I get mad, all of my hair turns a bright, unnatural red. No one, including myself, knew why, but it doesn't matter to me because I love my hair. I absolutely hate it when people hurt my friend and, of course I do mostly anything to annoy the Dursleys so naturally, I'm a bit of a rebel.

Snapping back to reality, I realized the coffee was overflowing and burning my hand. Cursing silently, I poured some into the sink, gave the cup to Vernon and cleaned the spilled coffee up.

Just then, Dudley came into the kitchen and scanned the piled of presents with his small, beady eyes. Finally he asked, "How many are there?"

"36, counted them myself," Mr. Dursley said smiling at his spoiled son, completely ignoring me and Harry.

Suddenly, Dudley grew red in the face and he exploded into a fit, "36, but last year I had 37!" I rolled my eyes. I swear they're going to get stuck up in my head eventually. **(A/N: My best friend says this all the time, haha)**

"36 presents is enough, Dursley! Harry and I don't even get any at all!" I snapped at him, almost feeling the red at the roots of my hair spreading slightly.

"Well, that's because you aren't important," Dudley said coldly. Oh, that's it!

I clenched my teeth and narrowed my eyes but said calmly yet dangerously, "You wanna try saying that again, Dursley?" Dudley whimpered and replied a soft no and I smiled in satisfactory. That's what I thought, ha!

Yet, Mr. Dursley tried to reason with his son about the number of presents which added to my annoyance. Finally Mrs. Dursley went over saying, "Listen to me, when we go to the zoo, we're going to buy you two more presents."

Harry rolled his eyes while I looked very annoyed. Can you tell I'm annoyed? After a few minutes the Dursleys, Harry and I went out to the car. Before we could get inside, Mr. Dursley closed the door of the car. Oh dear, here comes another warning. "Don't do anything that'll embarrass us or were going to turn you to dust, rawr", every, single, time. Like you actually scare me, Dursley.

"I'm warning you two, any funny business and you won't get any meals for a week, now get in," Mr. Dursley said as he pushed past us and around the car. Told you.

We finally arrived at the zoo and as weird as it sounds, it was the most amazing thing I had ever seen in person. Harry and I smiled at each other, silently agreeing. When we got into the zoo, we stared at everything in wonder and awe as if we were tourist seeing something like the Eiffel Tower in Paris, or the Grand Canyon in Arizona, or Niagara Falls in Canada. It was almost like that to us, seeing as neither Harry nor I ever left that stupid house, except for school in which we were of course, the outsiders.

Some people I noticed stared at us questionably but neither of us really cared. We were just grateful that we got to go. We never get to this!

Well, moving on, I was particularly interested in the petting zoo because I was able to pet the dogs in there. Dogs are my favorite animals. I love them! After seeing all of them that I could, I rested on the bench while I chuckled at the goat trying to eat a piece of candy out of Dudley's back pocket. Sweet karma.

I clutched my necklace that I never took off in my right hand. A small, black dog with diamond eyes shone under the sun still looking like it was brand new even though it was around as old as I was, 10 years old (I'm almost 11! My birthday is in two months!). On the back it had my full name (Lydia Andromeda Black), and my birth date (September 5, 1980). I'm not entirely sure what "S. Black & S. Black" meant but I'm almost sure that it's the initials of my parents' names. If only I knew their whole first names…

"Come on, Lyd! We're leaving!" Harry called out to me snapping me out of my thoughts. Oh yeah, I also daydream a lot. I have my own little world. I caught up with Harry and the Dursleys. Everything was going great. That is until we reached the Reptile House.

Harry, the Dursleys and I gazed at a giant, unmoving snake. Mr. Dursley banged on the glass crying, "Hey move, come on move!"

"He's asleep," Harry put in quickly, feeling quite sorry for the snake that probably faced this daily.

The Dursleys looked at him for a moment before moving on.

After two seconds, I said, "Well, this boring. I'm going to look at the lizards…Bye!" And I raced to the lizards' pen, leaving Harry alone with the snake. I was still within hearing range though so I could hear what he was saying.

"Lydia has a short attention span. And sorry about Dudley…he's a little spoiled some times. Well, actually all the time," Harry spoke softly to the snake. I smiled a bit.

"Can…you hear me?" Harry asked softly. This made me look over at him.

Harry gulped and stammered, "You're…from Bermuda?" Wow, he's having a conversation with…a snake. Who doesn't talk back. I'm really starting to worry about him. He looked over at a sign next to the snake pen.

"I see. I never knew my parents either," Harry said softly. Um…

Just then Dudley ran over to the snake again yelling, "Mum, Dad, you won't believe what the snake's doing!"

He pushed past Harry causing him to fall on the floor and scrape his hand on the concrete. I saw Harry's blood drip on the floor. I was coming over just as this happened and I shot a death glare at Dudley. That stupid pig!

Then, _splash_! Dudley was all of a sudden in the snake pen, dripping wet from the pond he crashed into. Just the slight glance of this made me bite my lip hard in an effort not to laugh. The snake slithered its way out slowly. Once on the ground, it turned and I could have sworn that it looked straight at Harry. Ok maybe I'm the one that's going crazy. I heard it hiss slightly. Harry looked surprised.

He managed to say, "Any time." Ok, never mind, Harry is the one going crazy.

The snake slithered past him and out of the reptile house. People were screaming all around them. On the other hand, Harry and I, especially I in fact, were in hysterics. Mr. Dursley turned sharply to us to give us a look of death, and we both stopped laughing at once. Oh yeah, we're in deep of Form

The minute we got home, the largest Dursley pushed us inside and started screaming at us.

"What happened back there!?" he shouted pulling Harry and I's hair back, which _hurt_.

"I swear, we don't know," Harry started, but Vernon shoved him into the closet and turned on me. Great. I kept a straight face trying to be or at least look brave.

"What happened?" he asked sharply. "You better tell me, girl." I sighed trying to let out the fear I felt and quietly answered firmly, "I _don't_ know! The glass was there one minute then in the next blink…it was gone! It was just like…like magic!"

Suddenly, there was a deep pain in my cheek as Vernon slapped me across the cheek. Yeah, that hurt too. I clenched my teeth together tightly, trying to hide any trace of tears and pain. "There's no such thing as magic, girl," he sneered.

Well, he's already mad, might as well try to make him madder, I thought as a smart remark passed through her mind. I all of a sudden smirked and said smartly, "Of course there is. You're just too empty headed to believe it." As soon as I said this, I darted right past him and managed to dodge his large, purple fist and sped into the cupboard.

"You two will be sorry about this!" Mr. Dursley cried. "Especially you, girl," he added with a dangerous edge to his voice. And then he was gone.

I looked at Harry and burst into the tears that I had been keeping back. Harry rushed to my side and embraced me comfortingly. I sobbed onto his shoulder.

"Don't worry, Lyd," he began, "we're going to get out of here as soon as we can. I promise you."

I looked up and smiled slightly and mouthed, "Thank you." He smiled back, wiped away my tears and hugged me again. It had been like this for a while. We supported each other as much as we could. We were pretty much like twins, brother and sister even though we weren't _actually _twins, of course. Just acted like it, and I was thankful for that.

In the next few days, Harry and I were only allowed to come out of our small cupboard if we needed to use the bathroom. We were rarely giving anything to eat and when we were, Aunt Petunia would give us just a small serving of soup. It was better than nothing though. Maybe I should try to fling it at her the next time she serves it to us…

After about a week of that, the two of us were able to come out of our room but we were still under deep punishment.

Currently, Harry had gone out to get the mail while I was sitting at the kitchen table listening to the Dursley's rant about something on the news.

I saw Harry slowly walk into the kitchen with his eyes glued to the mail. He handed Uncle Vernon a small stack of letters, with two letters still in his hand and sat down next to me. He took one of them and gave it to me. I gave him a shocked look to which he just shrugged. We never got mail, ever.

Before either of us could get our letters open, they were snatched from our hands by none other than Dudley. He ran around the kitchen screaming, "Dad, look! Harry and Lydia got letters!" Harry and I hopped out of our seats.

"Give them back!" we shouted in unison as we tried to get a slight hold on the letters. I could tell that my hair was bright red because one, I was extremely angry at the moment and two, I felt the familiar, short prickling on my head. We paused for a moment and I said sharply, "Give them back, they're ours!"

Uncle Vernon chuckled and asked, "Yours? Who would possibly want to write either of you?" He flipped the letter over in his hand and then the kitchen went silent as Vernon and Petunia's eyes widened as to where they looked as if they were going to pop out of their heads.

"Out of here…all of you," Petunia ordered in a shaky voice indicating to Harry, Dudley and I. We all obeyed and strolled out into the hallway.

"What do you think they're talking about?" Harry asked me curiously. My hair had gone back to its normal color, by the way.

"Don't know. Then again, who really cares…besides piggy over there," I nodded her head over to where Dudley was. Dudley had his ear pressed up against the kitchen door trying to hear anything if possible. Harry and I glanced at each other and laughed quietly, then headed back to the cupboard.

Everything was crazy over the next few days. Vernon had sealed up the mail door since more and more letters for Harry and I had flowed in, each the same exact one. But they didn't stop at the mail slot.

In everywhere you could think of, intruding letters burst in. They came through the windows, through the cracks in the doors and through the chimney! They wouldn't stop. The three Dursley's, especially Vernon, were overwhelmed when Sunday came. Harry and I, not very.

"Ah," Vernon sighed, "Sunday. The best day of the week, in my opinion. Does anyone know why?" Here we go again, sigh.

"Because there is no post on Sunday's, Uncle Vernon," Harry answered with a hint of disappointment in his voice. He and I had been doing anything we possibly could to get our hands on a single letter, but we had no luck.

"Right you are, Harry!" Vernon cheered. "No letters! No one single bloody letter is going to slip through our-"

Before he could finish his rant, he was cut off by a large amount of flapping outside. Then, a low rumbling came throughout the house. The three Dursleys looked frightened to death while Harry and I smiled at one another knowing what was going to happen. Here we go again, yes!

Dudley whimpered and as if on cue over a hundred letters for Harry and I came bursting through every part of the home that they had sealed up. To Harry and I, it felt like it was snowing. Just like on a beautiful winter day, only in the summer and crisp, white-ish yellow letters pouring down instead of snow.

We jumped up and down, trying to catch one of our own. It was actually impossible not to with all of the letters scattered around the house. We, of course did catch quite a few of the letters, but whenever we did, the biggest Dursley knocked it out of our hands which was quite annoying.

Suddenly Vernon yelled, "That's it! We are leaving! We are going to go so far away that not one blasted letter can reach us!"

And with that, we were all packing without picking up any of the letters, and the letters slipping out of my best friend and I's reach once again.

Bottom of Form


	2. The Truth Revealed

**Hey there! Thank you so much to who reviewed! Reviews are amazing! I like to answer some reviews (particularly the ones that had questions in them). So:**

**reader-babe: Oh yeah, didn't think about that. Oh well, I like her birthday and I'm too lazy to change it, haha. Thanks for pointing that out though.**

**Goldenfightergirl: Lydia is half-blood. **

**To everyone: Thank you all for reviewing and more importantly reading! I hope you enjoy the next chapter and the rest of the story. If you have any questions about the story, I will answer them. Again thank you for the awesome reviews!**

**Disclaimer: I own Lydia and Lydia only.**

The three Dursleys, Harry and I drove for what seemed like forever with large drops of rain constantly plopping down on the car. We finally came to a short stop in front of one of the ugliest, smallest shacks you would ever see. It was perched on top of a large rock, but it looked like it was just barely managing to stay on top of it. _This _is where we're staying? I hate to say it but I prefer the Dursley's. This place was filthy!

"This is it!" Mr. Dursley said enthusiastically, with both of his large, purple fingers pointing towards the miserable shack. "The perfect place!" I scoffed loudly to which Vernon glared daggers at me.

"_You _don't think so, girl?" Vernon questioned dangerously. I resisted the urge to smirk.

"No, no! I-It's great!" I lied with false excitement and a forced smiled, but mouthed "No, it isn't" to Harry when Vernon had his back turned.

The inside of the shack wasn't the slightest bit better than the outside. It was cold and the fireplace had no wood to start a fire, and had only two rooms. Vernon and Petunia occupied one of the rooms while they didn't use the second room. Why? Who knows, these people are weird. Instead, she took some blankets and made up a bed for Dudley on the small, uncomfortable couch, giving Harry and me two thin sheets.

When the adults had gone up to bed and Dudley passed out on the couch, Harry and I set up little places for themselves; Harry on the dirt ground and me next to him. I, unlike Harry, quickly fell asleep.

All of a sudden a sharp bang echoed throughout the tiny room which caused both me and Dudley to wake up with a start. A frightened Mr. and Mrs. Dursley came down stairs, a rifle in Vernon's hand and Petunia grasping on to her husband's large arm.

With another loud bang (and more jumps from everyone in the house), the door came from right out of its place and smashing to the ground. In the doorway stood a giant sized man. Most of his face was covered by a long, tangled mess for hair and a shaggy beard. Even though the man looked frightening, his eyes were kind and gentle.

The large man managed to squeeze inside the small hut and without hesitation walked straight over to a terrified Harry and me. He looked down at the two of us and smiled. Almost like he was greeting two long lost friends.

"I haven' seen either of yeh since you were babies," the giant said in a deep, pleasant voice, and then he turned to my best friend. "'Arry, yeh look 'xactly like yer dad, but yeh have your mother's eyes (**A/N: The classic phrase**)," he then turned to me and continued, "And Lydia, yer the same. Yeh also look like father and 'ave yer mother's eyes too. Wouldn't be surprised if yeh had yer father's personality." Wait, should I take that as a compliment or an insult?

Before either Harry or I could say anything, Vernon spoke up, "I demand you leave at once! You are breaking and entering!"

"Shut up, Dursley, yeh great prune," said the giant and he jerked the rifle from his hands and bent it into a ninety degree angle, to which all three of the Dursleys whimpered at. I couldn't help but smile a little bit at someone making a fool out of Vernon Dursley. Ok, I was starting to like this guy a bit.

The giant walked back over to Harry and me again and smiled us. "Anyway," he started taking out two boxes; one a large blue and the other a medium white, "Harry- happy birthday to yeh," he said handing Harry the blue box. "Mighta sat on it at sometime but I'm sure it's jus' as good," the giant added happily.

Harry opened the box gently and saw a small, round chocolate cake with _Happy Birthday Harry _written on it with icing. Without waiting for a thank you, the giant turned to me.

"And this is fer yeh, Lydia," said the giant gleefully, handing a surprised me the white box. I hesitantly took it and opened it. Inside there was a small, silver bracelet with of course, a silver dog on it. He seemed to know my love for dogs.

I smiled to myself and looked up at the giant but before I could say anything Harry asked, "Who are you?"

The giant smiled and said cheerfully, "Sorry, I haven' introduced meself yet. I'm Rubeus Hagrid, Keeper of the Keys and Grounds at Hogwarts. Yeh can call me Hagrid." Hagrid held out a huge hand and we both shook it.

Suddenly, Hagrid lifted his umbrella and pointed it at the fireplace. The rest of us didn't see what the giant was doing but he drew back a second later and in the fireplace there was a warm fire.

Ignoring the obvious question of "how in the world did you do that?", I looked at him questionably and asked, "Excuse me um…Hagrid, where was it that you said you came from?"

"Hogwarts," Hagrid answered, "Yeh have heard of Hogwarts, haven't yeh?"

"Uh, no." Hagrid had a shocked look on his face. "Are we supposed to?" I continued.

"They haven' told yeh!' Hagrid cried glaring at the Dursleys. "Yeh don't know 'bout Hogwarts! Did yeh ever wonder where each of yer parents learned it all?!"

"Learned _what?_" Harry asked and exchanged a confused look with me.

"Yeh mean to say that yeh two don' know a single thing 'bout _your world_?!"

"What world?" I asked, now getting quite frustrated. I just wanted him to tell us what he's talking about!!

Hagrid turned to the Dursleys angrily and exclaimed, "You never told them! You never told them what was in tha' letter Dumbledore left for them!? An' you've kept it from them all these years?!"

"Kept _what _from us?" I yelled, now quite angry, and I could tell that the very top of my hair starting to turn red.

"I FORBID YOU! I forbid you to tell either of them ANYTHING!" Mr. Dursley shouted, his face now purple. Hagrid ignored him and turned to Harry, who was curious, and me, who was very annoyed.

"Harry- yer a wizard, and Lydia- yer a witch" Hagrid explained to us. W-witch? Wizard? Was this guy crazy?

There was a long silence until I broke it with a, "Come again?"

"Witches and wizards yeh two are, and mighty good ones at tha'" Hagrid smiled, pulling out the letters that the Dursleys have been denying Harry and I for the past week. "'Bout time yeh read these," he added handing the letters to Harry and me. Inside it read:

HOGWARTS SCHOOL

_of _WITCHCRAFT _and _WIZARDRY

We are pleased to inform you that you have been accepted to Hogwarts School of Witchcraft and Wizardry. Please find an enclosed list of all necessary books and equipment.

Term begins on September 1. We await your owl by no later than July 31.

Yours sincerely,

Minerva McGonagall,

_Deputy Headmistress_

The two of us stared at the letters while Hagrid wrote the headmaster, Dumbledore, saying, most likely, that we had gotten our letters. Speaking up for the first time in a while, Vernon said dully, "They're not going."

"I'd like ter see a Muggle like you stop them," Hagrid replied.

"What's that?" I asked, now very interested. I was also now convinced that he was not making this up.

"A Muggle is what we call a non-magical folk like those lumps. An' it's you two's bad luck that yeh ended up with a family o' the biggest Muggles I've ever seen."

"When we took them in, we swore we'd put a stop to it," said Uncle Vernon. "We swore we'd stomp it out of them.

"You knew?" Harry said. "You _knew _that we are a witch and a wizard?

"Knew!" shrieked Aunt Petunia suddenly. Whoa, wasn't expecting her to talk! "Of course we knew! How could we not, my dratted sister being what she was? She got a letter just like those and disappeared off to that- that _school_- and came home every vacation, turning teacups into rats. I was the only one who saw her for what she was- a freak! But to my mother and father, oh no, it was Lily this and Lily that, they were proud of having a witch in the family!"

She took a deep breath and kept going like she had wanted to share this story for years and for once, I didn't mind her talking.

"Then she met that Potter at school and they left and got married and had you. Then of course there were those two arrogant and obnoxious friends of Potter that married and had Black who turned out to be just as arrogant and obnoxious (I resent that!" I cried.). And of course I knew that you'd be just the same, just as strange, just as-_ abnormal_- and then she went and got herself blown up and Black's parents turn out to be dangerous and we got stuck with the both of you."

Harry and Lydia had both gone pale. Harry exclaimed angrily, "Blown up? You told me they died in a car crash!" and at the same time I repeated, "Dangerous?!" but they ignored me.

"CAR CRASH!" Hagrid roared so loudly that all three Dursleys jumped back. "How could a car crash kill Lily an' James Potter? This is an outrage!"

"We had to say something!" Petunia snapped back.

"He will _not _be going to that school!" Vernon interrupted, changing the topic. "I am not going to pay to have this old fool teach him magic tricks!"

All of a sudden, a fire was in Hagrid's eyes. He walked up to Uncle Vernon and pointed the tip of his umbrella to his large chest. "Do not insult Albus Dumbledore in front of me!" he growled threateningly. Out of the corner of his eye, he saw Dudley pigging out on Harry's birthday cake, stuffing huge chunks into his mouth at a rapid pace.

Hagrid shifted his hand so that the umbrella pointed straight at Dudley. A zap was heard and right out of Dudley's bottom sprouted a pig tail. Dudley screamed along with his parents. I immediately smiled. I want to do that!

Hagrid turned to Harry and I, who were in bounds of laughter, and said, "I would appreciate if yeh didn' tell anyone 'bout tha'." With that, he walked over to the door that was still flat on the ground and lifted it up and shoved it in the doorway.

"I'm runnin' a bit late, so we best be off. Unless yeh want ter stay, o' course," Hagrid said, obviously and silently hoping that we would come with him. Harry and I smiled at each other and followed Hagrid out of the door.

Although, there was one thing that I couldn't help but wonder about. What did Petunia mean by my parents being dangerous? I mean, yeah, they told me about my dad being locked up somewhere but where? And what did he do? What did my mother do? Was she in prison too? What if she's not dangerous and secretly looking for me? Or did she just abandon me? Or more importantly, who the heck were my parents anyway?!

All of these questions swarmed in my mind and I couldn't get rid of them. I decided just to go for it and ask.

"Um, Hagrid?" I asked hesitantly. He turned to me and smiled.

"Yes, Lydia?"

I sighed and asked, "Who were my parents? What did Petunia Dursley mean by dangerous? What did they do?" This brought the smile off Hagrid's face. He sighed too and pondered for a moment.

"It's not my place ter tell yeh." Right, I didn't except an actual answer but I decided not to question it any further. I guess I will find out eventually. They can't just keep it from me forever, especially since they actually know. I forced a smile and nodded and followed Hagrid and Harry to where ever we were going.

**Sorry it's so short. The next chapters will be longer (I hope). Review please! :)**

**CaptJess :)**


	3. Diagon Alley

In a matter of so little time, I had learned so much about the magical world. We were brought a newspaper early that morning with the title as "The Daily Prophet", which was a type of enchanted newspaper. The pictures _moved_! They_ moved_! How cool is that?

We had to give the owl that brought the paper some sort of wizarding money. It was different than regular money, you see; and it made me very confused. I'm getting it down I think though; Knuts are the bronze ones, Sickles are the silver, and Galleons are gold.

I yawned and stretched when we were eating our breakfasts', loading with sausage and eggs. I loved food, so ever much. I examined one of the coins that Harry had given the owl as did Harry. I heard Harry sigh beside me.

"Um—Hagrid?" he started. Hagrid nodded to him. "Lydia and I haven't got any money. The Dursleys never give us anything. And you heard Uncle Vernon last night; he won't pay to let us go." I frowned when I realized this, the hard truth coming to my mind.

"Don't worry about that," Hagrid said, standing up. "D'yeh think that either of your parents would have left yeh nothing?" I furrowed my eyebrows.

"But if their house was destroyed—" Harry started again.

"They didn't keep gold in their house, boy! Nah, first stop is Gringrotts. Wizard's bank."

"Wizards have _banks_?" I questioned curiously.

"Jus' the one. Gringrotts. Run by Goblins."

"_Goblins_? There's such a thing as _goblins_?"

Hagrid nodded. "And lots of differen' creatures yeh don't often find in the muggle world." I was rather surprised by this; I had no idea. All my life I thought that wizards, witches, dragons, etc, were made up stories used to either entertain or frighten little kids. Boy was I wrong.

"Anyways," Hagrid continued, "Yeh'd be mad ter try an' rob it, I'll tell yeh that. Never mess with goblins. Gringrotts is the safest place in the world—'cept for maybe Hogwarts. I got ter visit Gringrotts as well fer Dumbledore. Hogwarts business." At this, Hagrid straightened himself up proudly. "I usually get ter do important stuff fer him." He headed slightly towards the door of the cabin we were at, close to the Dursley's, and gestured for us to follow.

I brushed myself off as I stood as well and walked with Harry to outside of the cabin. It was a rather nice down and the sea view was gorgeous.

"Why would you be mad to try to rob Gringrotts?" Harry asked. Hagrid unfolded his newspaper as he spoke.

"Spell and enchantments all around it. They say there's dragons guarding the high security vaults. An' then yeh got to find yer way—Gringrotts is a hundred miles under London; yeh'd die of hunger trying ter get out, you see."

As Hagrid read his paper, he muttered a couple things. I caught, "Ministry o' Magic messing up things as usual."

"There's a Ministry of Magic?" Harry broke in. Hagrid explained about the Ministry and how it worked. He said that they had wanted Dumbledore for a Minister, but they had settled for someone named Cornelius Fudge as the position instead who was apparently clueless.

When we got up to the street, Hagrid kept pointing out perfectly normal muggle devices and saying that it was amazing the things that muggles thought of. He also explained on how he wanted a dragon. While walking, Harry and I took out our letters and looked through the supplies list.

Some of the supplies on the list were very unusual, I noticed. Most of the books on the list included the word 'magic' on them, while the other supplies that seemed odd were wands and cauldrons.

"Can you really find all of this stuff in London, Hagrid?" I asked doubtfully, still staring at the list. The giant looked back to me and smiled, with a glint in his warm eyes.

"I yeh know where to go," was his only reply.

Most of the trip to London, Hagrid was having trouble understanding how everyone got around with the use of magic. He complained on various things, such as the seats on the train being too slow and the train itself moving to slow for his liking.

When we finally arrived, we headed towards a small looking, shabby pub. Most people on the street passed it without a second glance as it wasn't even there. I got the feeling that only Harry, Hagrid and I could see it. We entered the pub slowly and it was hard to realize that it was famous, considering how dark it was. Hagrid was rather famous in there also.

"The usual, Hagrid?" the bartender greeted, reaching for a glass.

Can't, Tom. I'm on Hogwarts business," he said, clamping a hand each on Harry and I's shoulders. The bar had gone quiet as the bartender's eyes widened at my best friend and me.

"Bless my soul…" whispered Tom in an admiring voice, examining Harry closely. "Could it be…Harry Potter, what an honor." While Tom reached out to clasp Harry's hand, the bar was suddenly filled with murmurs of excitement.

Tom looked to me finally, once he had let go of Harry's hand. He gave a small smile towards me and greeted calmly, "And you must be little Lydia Black. It is nice to meet you, young lady."

"Yes, Lydia Black, I am. Nice to meet you too," I replied, smiling back, still amazing and baffled on how the bartender (and now the whole pub) already knew Harry and I. Many people crowded around Harry to shake his hand or just to get a mere glimpse of him.

Some came up to me too to greet me. I remembered this one family (or at least group of friends) that had come up to both of us. They seemed the most joyful to meet us. There was a blonde man and a blonde woman among them, as well as a pretty brown haired woman, and lastly, the one with the kindest and most relieved look, was a beautiful black haired woman.

Most of the looks that were cast towards my best friend were full of admiration. I, on the other hand, receive mixed looks. Some were sympathetic, others were joyful, some with relief and the last ones, the ones I did not understand at all, were full of complete disgust. I avoided the eyes of those people.

The last person to approach us was a pale man wearing a turban wrapped around his head. He stepped forward rather nervously.

"Professor Quirrell!" Hagrid exclaimed. "Harry, Lydia, Professor Quirrell here will be one of yer teachers this year at Hogwarts."

"P-P-Potter, B-Black," he stuttered, nervously grasping Harry's hand first, "I c-can't tell you how p-pleased I am to meet you b-both."

"What sort of magic do you teach, Professor Quirrell?" I asked, a lot less fearlessly than he and extremely glad to only be talking to one person at time again.

"D-Defense Against the D-D-Dark Arts," he stammered. "N-Not that you n-need it eh, P-Potter?" He laughed nervously to himself. I didn't really have a great first impression of him so far.

It took about ten more minutes to finally get away from the fascinated crowd. He led him to the back of the bar where Hagrid simply drew out his umbrella and tapped the brick wall three times. I drew back in surprised when it started to open up into a shopping area.

"Welcome, "Hagrid stated, "to Diagon Alley."

There was everything I would have never imagined in Diagon Alley. A book store, cauldron shop, Owl Emporium, a broom shop that had a group of boys around my ago gawking at the display in window. Something about it being the fastest broom in the world.

The biggest bar far was a snowy white building, which Hagrid distinguished as Gringrotts. Inside of the bank were a bunch of short creatures with pointed beards and long fingers and feet. They didn't have the kindest expressions among their faces, and I assumed that these were the goblins.

Harry and I lingered behind Hagrid as he approached a free goblin at one of the counters. "Hello. Mr. Harry Potter and Miss Lydia Black wishes ter make a withdrawal," he said to the goblin. The goblin peered behind the giant man and looked to us once.

"Do you have their keys, sir?"

"Got it here somewhere." Hagrid dug through his deep pockets, filled with literally everything except for a comb maybe, until he found what he was looking for. He held up two small golden keys. "Oh," he continued, handing a letter to the creature, "I've also got a letter here from Professor Dumbledore. It's about the You-Know-What in vault seven an' thirteen. "I really didn't like all of these codenames.

The goblin took the letter and read through it carefully. "Very well," he said, handing it back to Hagrid, "I will have someone take you down to the vaults. Griphook!" Another goblin came towards us, and we trailed after it.

"What is the You-Know-What in seven thirteen?" Harry asked. Hagrid paused.

"Can't tell yeh that," he said mysteriously. "Very secret Hogwarts business."

The narrow stone passage way that Griphook led us to was lit up with torches along the sides of the walls. A small cart zoomed up to us the minute Griphook whistled. Harry and I climbed in easily, while Hagrid had a bit more difficulty than us small children.

The cart almost made me sick, with its fast speed and several lurches in every direction. I wasn't the only one; Hagrid looked green. He got out trembling while Griphook called Harry over. He unlocked the door to the vault and what I saw my best friend and I gasp. Piles of gold, silver and bronze where almost filled to the ceiling. Harry gathered everything he could fit into a medium sized bag Hagrid had brought.

The next stop was mine and to my relief it was only two down from Harry's vault. There was no way I'd have that much money as he did. Though, I watched eagerly as Griphook unlocked my own. I managed another shocked gasp. There was so much money in it! It was even more than Harry's!

I beamed and stuffed another bag full of my coins, as Harry had done with his. We hopped in the cart for the final stop and off we went. Hagrid begged to go more slowly but according to the goblin it unfortunately only went one speed.

Vault seven thirteen looked like the others except for one thing, it had no keyhole. Instead, Griphook stroked it with one long finger and it away it melted.

"If anyone ever tried that but a Gringrotts goblin, they'd be sucked through the door and trapped there, informed Griphook.

"How often do you check to see if anyone's inside?" I asked him curiously.

"About once every ten years," responded Griphook with a rather nasty grin. I shuddered slightly. When Hagrid emerged from the vault, he was holding some package. A small one at that. I longed to know what importance it had, but pushed back my question and sighed to myself.

XXX

I glanced happily around the shops once we were outside, my money bag feeling heavy in my hand. There were so many things to see that I didn't know where to go! Hagrid suggested that we got our uniforms first considering Madam Malkin's Robes for all Occasions was next to us.

Hagrid had left us to go into the shop alone, heading off towards the Leaky Cauldron once again. We glanced quickly at each other and headed in side by side. Madam Malkin was a small, happy witch and she greeted us at the door when we arrived.

"Hogwarts, dear?" she asked before either us could speak. "Got a lot coming down here—in fact, another young man is being fitted up just now."

I looked to the back of the shop and sure enough, there was a pale blonde boy getting fitted for his own robes. Madam Malkin led us to him, standing us to either side of him. Madam Malkin began fixing Harry's robes herself, while a third witch helped with mine.

"Hello," greeted the boy. "Hogwarts too?" I nodded.

"Yes," Harry replied.

"My father's next door buying my books and my mother's up the street looking for wands," he continued. He had a rather bored, drawling voice. There was something about him that I already did not like. "Then I'm going to drag them off to go look at racing brooms. I don't see why first years can't have their own. I think I'll bully father into getting me one and I'll smuggle it in somehow." I rolled my eyes heavily. Nope, didn't like him one bit.

"Have either of you got your own broom?" he went on.

"Nope, not yet," I replied for the both of us.

"Do you play Quidditch at all?"

"No," Harry said. What the heck was a Quidditch?

"I do—father says it's a crime if I'm not picked to play for my house, and I agree. Know what house you'll be in yet?"

Harry repeated his answer and I shook my head no. I felt kind of stupid and I knew that Harry did as well by the look on his face.

"Well, no one really knows until they get there, do they, but I know I'll be in Slytherin, all our family has been—Imagine being in Hufflepuff. I think I'd leave, wouldn't you?" I wish this boy would understand I have no idea what he was on about.

"I honestly don't know," I said, a little annoyed. Thankfully, Hagrid was there gesturing to three ice creams that he was holding. Now, all I need is for these robes to be done.

"I say, look at that man!" the boy cried, nodding towards the window.

"That's Hagrid," Harry commented, happy to know something that the boy did not. "He works at Hogwarts."

"Oh, I've heard of him. He's sorta a servant, isn't he?"

"He's the gamekeeper, for your information," I said sharply.

"Yes, exactly. I heard he's sort of _savage_—lives in a hut on the school grounds and every now and then he gets drunk, tries to do magic and ends up setting his bed on fire," the boy sneered, thinking he was ever so smart.

"I think he's brilliant," Harry said coldly. I nodded along. The boy glanced from me to Harry.

"Are you two brother and sister or something?"

"No, we're best friends," I answered impatiently. The boy shrugged.

"Well, why is he with you anyway? Where are your parents?" the boy asked.

"I don't know them," I snapped.

"Mine are dead," Harry said in the same tone of voice as me.

"Oh, sorry," the boy said, not sounding sorry. "You guy's parents _were_ our kind, weren't they?" I narrowed my eyes a bit.

"They were all wizards and witches, if that's what you mean," Harry said.

"I don't think they should let the other sort in. They've never been brought up to know our way. They haven't even heard of Hogwarts until they get their letters. No, I think they should keep it with only old wizarding families. What are your surnames anyway?"

I thanked god when the ladies working on mine and Harry's robes finished, giving me an excuse to get away from him. The boy bid us goodbye and we headed out of the shop. I happily took my ice cream from Hagrid, thanked him and started eating it. It was vanilla, my favorite.

"Hey, Hagrid, what's Quidditch?"I asked, breaking the silence.

"Blimey! I keep forgetting how little you know about our world! Quidditch is a wizard sport. It's like—like soccer, in the muggle world. Everyone follows Quidditch. It's played up in the air on broomsticks and there are four types of balls. It's hard to explain."

"And what are Slytherin and Hufflepuff?" Harry asked, pondering another question that I didn't know.

"School houses. There are four. Everyone says Hufflepuffs are a lot o' duffers, but—better Hufflepuff than Slytherin. There's not a single witch or wizard who went bad who wasn't in Slytherin. Well, except for one, but that's a long story." He met eyes with me when he said this. "You-Know-Who was a Slytherin."

"Vol—sorry—You-Know-Who was at Hogwarts?" Harry asked.

"Years an' years ago," Hagrid said reluctantly.

Our next stop was Flourish and Blotts, the bookshop I had seen on the way. It was filled with the most amazing books I had ever seen. We purchased our school books from there but one book really cauht my eye. I raised an eyebrow and smirked, picking up _Curses and Counter-curses (Bewitch Your Friends and Befuddle Your Enemies with the Latest Revenges: Hair Loss, Jelly-Legs, Tongue-Tying and Much, Much More)_. It was filled with amazing pranks and I chuckled evilly, think of how many of these would be great on Dudley and maybe even that one boy in the robe shop. I called Harry over to which he admired with me. Hagrid had to practically drag us away from it.

"But-but there are _pranks_ in it. _Amazing pranks_," I said, sadly placing the book back on the shelf. "_Perfect_ pranks for Dudley and the Dursleys!" Hagrid explained to Harry and I that we were not allowed to use magic outside of school in the muggle world and that most of them were advanced curses beyond our level.

Before we left the shop, I sneakily snatched two copies of the book off the shelf anyway and bought them, quickly hiding them in my bag of money. I smirked innocently when I joined Hagrid and Harry again. We got the rest of our supplies from various shops along the way. The last thing that we needed was a wand.

"Oh and I still haven't got either of yeh birthday presents," Hagrid remember. I immediately shook my head while Harry went red.

"No, it's ok. M-my birthday isn't even for another two months," I refused.

"You really don't have to—"

"I know I don't have to. Tell yeh what; I'll get yeh both an animal. How about an owl? They're extremely useful," he said, ignoring our protests. Within twenty minutes, we emerged from the Owl Emporium, with me carrying a beautiful black barn owl and Harry a gorgeous snowy owl. We couldn't thank Hagrid enough.

Our last stop was Ollivander's, a small wand shop that seemed like a library to me. I thought the owner was gone until a voice behind Harry and I spoke softly, greeting us. An old man was suddenly before us, his wide, pale eyes shining.

"Hello," I greeted back.

"Ah yes," said Mr. Ollivander, turning to Harry. "Yes, I thought I'd be seeing you really soon. Harry Potter." He looked very closely at him. "You have your mother's eyes. It seems like only yesterday she was in here herself, buying her first wand. Ten and a quarter inches long, swishy, made of willow. Excellent work for Charms."

"You're father, on the other hand, favored a mahogany wand. Eleven inches. Pliable, excellent for Transfiguration. Well, I say your father favored it—it's really the wand that chooses the wizard, of course."

Mr. Ollivander had come so close to Harry that they were almost nose to nose. He was kind of creepy, in my opinion. Ollivander reached out to touch Harry's scar with his long finger.

"I'm sorry to say that I sold the wand that did that," he said softly. "Thirteen and a half inches, yew. Powerful wand, very powerful, and in the wrong hands…well, if I'd known what that wand was going out into the world to do…"

Harry looked very awkward and I couldn't help but smile a little. Luckily, Hagrid saved him once again when Ollivander finally noticed someone other than Harry and greeted him happily, talking about Hagrid's own wand. Hagrid had gotten expelled from Hogwarts, so it had been snapped in two. I had a feeling that the pieces were in that umbrella of his.

I tried to not sigh when he took notice in me. "And what is your name?"

"I'm Lydia."

"And Lydia, do you have a last name?" He smiled at me, his silver eyes trying to examine who I looked like.

"Black." He appeared a little startled at this answer.

"Ah, so you're Sir—"He broke off, glancing at Hagrid. I glanced at Hagrid, who pretended like he did nothing. I rolled my eyes, turning back to Ollivander.

"I remember your parents very well too, Miss Black. Your father's wand was an excellent wand for the pranks he usually pulled…as well as Transfiguration of course. 15 inches. Maple. Dragon Heartstring. Your mother's was slightly different. Very strong. Ebony, hippogriff talon. Immediately wonderful for Defense against the Dark Arts and Care of Magical Creatures."

"Hmm—well now," Ollivander finished after explaining the wands, "we'll start with Mr. Potter. Which is your wand arm?"

"Er—well—I'm right handed," Harry replied nervously, not sure of this.

Mr. Ollivander took to measuring Harry and handing him several different wands. Each was snatched out of his hand almost the second it was given to him. Finally one wand, holly and phoenix feather, suit him as spark flew out of the end when he held it.

"How curious…how very, very curious…"Ollivander muttered as he started on my measurements.

"Sorry," Harry said, "but what's curious?

Ollivander looked at him widely and explained how the brother of the wand that picked him was the wand that gave him his scar. Harry shivered.

Ollivander tried a couple wands with no luck with me either. "Oh, I've got it!" he exclaimed, pulling a box off the shelf once more. "This is the one! Ten inches; Vine; Unicorn horn. Great wand for Defense Against the Dark Arts."

I hesitantly took it and the minute I held it in my hand, warmth spread through my fingers and down my arm. The same sparks that had shot out of Harry's wand came out of mine. I instantly knew that this wand was the one for me. Harry and I paid seven Galleons each for our wands and finally left.

It was late afternoon when we headed back to the Leaky Cauldron, which was now empty to my relief. We managed to get through it with no problem and out onto the streets of London. Hagrid let us get something to eat before our train came.

There were questions still bothering me and Harry. Harry, I didn't know of, but mine was how everyone seemed to know me? Even if I wasn't as popular as Harry, people did know me. I sat silently with this question on the edge of my tongue and finally just spit it out.

"Hagrid, I know you said that you couldn't tell me, but I need to know. People seem to know me, and I want to know why," I declared, feeling determined. Hagrid looked at me long before sighing in defeat.

"I guess we can't hold it back from yeh forever," Hagrid started, "but I'm only going ter tell yeh a little bit. Around ten years ago, when you were just one years old, your father murdered a street full of muggles with one curse. He's locked up now in the wizard's prison Azkaban and has been ever since. That's why people know yeh, Lydia, 'cause yer father is to this day one of the most infamous murderers in history. An' that's all I'm going ter say."

I couldn't find any words to come to my mouth. My eyes were wide and I opened and closed my mouth again, trying to say something. I was in complete shock. It's not possible, was it? I glanced at a shocked Harry a few times.

"T-that-that can't be!" I finally stuttered. Hagrid looked to me sadly.

"I'm sorry, but it is." I gulped and fell completely silent, buried in my thoughts.

I'm the daughter of a _murderer_? A killer? A criminal? I repeated this in my head over and over, barely hearing Harry talking about Voldemort and how he wasn't sure if he was as special as everyone thought he was. I zoomed back in; when Hagrid explained that our train was almost here.

He helped us on the train and looked to me for a moment. "Yeh all righ', Lydia?" he asked carefully. Slowly, I nodded.

"Yeah, I'll be ok," I replied truthfully, gathering my confidence again.

Hagrid nodded and handed Harry and I an envelope each. "Yer ticket fer Hogwarts," he said. "Firs' o' September—King's Cross—it's all on yer ticket. If either of yeh have any problems with the Dursleys, send me a letter with one o' yer owls, they'll both know where to find me…See you soon, Harry, Lydia."

On this last word, the train pulled out of the station. Harry and I pressed against the window to try to watch Hagrid as the train left, but then minute we blinked, he was gone.

"I'm going to miss him," I stated, sitting back down. Harry stared out the window, smiled and turned to face me again.

"So will I," he agreed. Remembering something, I grabbed my money bag.

"And I have something for you; I almost forgot," I exclaimed. I took one copy of _Curses and Counter-curses_ out of the bag and placed it in his lap. "Happy Birthday, Harry." His beamed.

"You got it!" he chuckled. I smirked.

"Two actually," I said pulling out my own copy. "This year will be quite fun, I say." Harry laughed and hugged me. We looked through the book, laughing and planning on what we could do with the spells in it until our train came to a stop.


	4. Magical Train

**Here's the next chapter!! Once again, sorry it took so long, but hey, it's better than 9 months. Lol. Next chapter will be easier to write so it should be up sooner. But for now, enjoy! :)**

**Disclaimer: If I owned Harry Potter, my character Lydia would be in it! …So therefore I unfortunately do not own the incredible series. **

"PUT THOSE THINGS AWAY!!" Vernon roared into me and Harry's ears. I was getting a kick out of the Dursleys being so frightened of Harry and me that they practically ran every time they saw us. Especially Dudley; he screamed while he ran.

I tapped my wand to my chin thoughtfully. "I could do that," I pondered slowly, still tapping my wand. I had no idea how to use it still, but the Dursleys didn't know that. "But I don't think I want to." I smirked and waved my wand around aimlessly. Vernon and Petunia's eyes widened in fright and anger, but they didn't do anything about it.

Carrying his own wand, Harry and I headed towards the kitchen and broke out in hard laughter when we were inside and out of the Dursley's hearing range. "What idiots!" I mused. Harry nodded, still chuckling.

"They honestly think we can already do magic!" Harry said, amused. I sighed happily and plopped down in a chair.

"Life is sweet sometimes," I said, grinning widely. "Only two more weeks and we'll be out of this dump!" Harry agreed and sat down next to me. It had been two weeks since we had been to Diagon Alley and we'd been counting down the days; seconds even; until Hogwarts. We could barely contain our excitement.

We had both looked through all the books we had bought, and both found them quite interesting. My mind was still blown on the thought of the wizarding world, but I was slowly adjusting to it. I found Defense Against the Dark Arts particularly fascinating and so far that was the class I was most excited for.

I had decided to name my black owl Crescent, because she had a brown crescent-shaped marking under her beak. She was so beautiful and very sweet. She was extremely lively as well and often hooted every time Harry or I entered our room. Harry had named his own owl Hedwig, a name that he'd found in A History of Magic.

Harry and I were buzzing by the last day of August, but we still had the issue of convincing his aunt and uncle to take us there. We quietly strolled into the living room where the three Dursleys were watching something on television. We both cleared our throats, and to my amusement and annoyance, Dudley screamed and ran from the room. I raised my eyebrows.

"Good to see you too!" I called after him. Harry nudged me to shut up, but was trying to keep back a smile.

"Uncle Vernon?" he asked cautiously. Vernon grunted. "Er—Lydia and I need to be at King's Cross tomorrow to—to go to Hogwarts." Another grunt.

"Can you take us there? "I said, slowing down my words and received another grunt. "So in pig language, does that mean—"Harry cut me off with a harder nudge.

"Thank you," Harry responded, shooting me a look. I grinned innocently, and unable to keep back a smile, he chuckled quietly. When we were about to go up the stairs, Vernon actually spoke in a language other than pig.

"Funny way to get to wizard's school, by train. I thought they'd have magic carpets," he mocked. I was about to retort something but Harry cut me off with another look when I opened my mouth. I sighed in defeat. "Where is this school anyway?"

"I don't know," Harry answered, pulling out a train ticket. "We're just supposed to take the train from platform nine and three quarters at eleven o'clock." Harry's aunt and uncle turned to stare at us like idiots.

"There's no platform nine and three quarters!" Vernon exclaimed. "Barking mad, the lot of them. You'll see. You just wait. We'll take you two. We're going up to London tomorrow anyway. Got to get that ruddy tail removed from Dudley before he goes to Smeltings."

I mumbled sleepily as I was shaken awake by my best friend. I groaned and turned over to face him. "What?" I mumbled annoyed. He raised an eyebrow and I shot straight up in realization.

"I can't believe we're leaving! Todays finally the day we leave the Pigs—er, Dursleys'…either one can be used! I can't believe it!" I almost sang as I jumped up and started packing my things. It was five thirty in the morning but I didn't care. I was wide awake already.

"I promised, that we'd get out of here, didn't I?" Harry said, smiling at me. I remembered the promise he made me and smiled back.

"Yeah, you did." We beamed at each other and finished packing.

By ten thirty, we were standing hopelessly in between platforms nine and ten, with Vernon, who was grinning nastily. Where was platform nine and three quarters? It couldn't be all a joke! I refuse to believe it after going to Diagon Alley!

"Have a good term," sneered Vernon as he walked away with his family, all of them laughing. I looked around, starting to panic.

"Well, now what? Where is this bloody place?" I questioned.

"Dunno. We'll have to ask someone," Harry answered.

"Leave this to me," I said with a smirk and stopped a passing guard. "Excuse me; do you know where platform nine and three quarters is?" The guard gave me a strange look.

"There is no platform 'nine and three quarters' little miss," he explained to me, highly confused. I furrowed my eyebrows.

"The one going to Hogwarts?"

"Hogwarts? Where's that? What's that?"

"I dunno. It's a school. I thought you'd know. You do _work_ here, after all," I replied, crossing my arms.

"Stop being funny with me, miss! I don't have a clue what you are talking about!" he explained, annoyed. I narrowed my eyes.

"Oh, funny? You want to see funny?" I threatened angrily, my hair turning red. The guard backed away a little. Harry pushed me aside, knowing that I was only making matters worse for us.

"What's happening to her hair?!" the guard cried. Harry shrugged it off.

"Oh, it just does that when she's angry. No big deal," he said casually. The guard slowly nodded, unsure.

"R-right. Sure."

"Do you know where the train that leaves at eleven is?" Harry asked desperately. The guard sighed and shook his head.

"There is none," he replied sharply and walked away muttering something about time wasters. I glared after him. Harry turned to me helplessly.

"—packed with muggles, of course—"

Harry and I looked to each other, our eyes widening in hope once again. We looked back and saw a completely red-headed family, with large trunks, _and_ an owl. We beamed and strolled closer to them, analyzing their every move.

"Now, what's the platform number?" the plump mother of the group asked her four boys (and one girl).

"Nine and three quarters!" piped the small girl holding her mother's hand. My heart gave a leap of relief at the name she mentioned. This was it. Other wizards! "Mom, can't I go…"

"You're not old enough, Ginny, now be quiet!" replied the mother. "Alright, you first, Percy."

The oldest looking boy charged towards the divider between platforms nine and ten. Just when he was about to crash…he vanished. I blinked a couple of times to make sure my eyes weren't deceiving me.

"Fred, you next," said the mother.

"I'm not Fred, I'm George!" sighed one of her sons; one that seemed to be a twin. "Honestly, woman, you call yourself our mother. Can't you _tell_ I'm George?"

"Sorry, George, dear." The boy smiled.

"Only joking. I am Fred," said the boy, taking off towards the barrier. I snorted in small laughter. He had a similar sense of humor that I had. His twin, George, went after him and together, they too vanished. But _how?_ I glanced at Harry, who seemed just as astonished as I was.

"Excuse me," Harry said politely, after we walked towards the woman. She looked at us and smiled warmly.

"Hello, dears," she greeted. "First time at Hogwarts? Ron's new too." She pointed to the last and youngest of her sons. Ron was a tall and thin boy, with red hair like the rest and freckles.

"Hello," I said cheerfully towards Ron and turned back to his mother, smiling. "It's our first year, but my friend and I don't exactly know how to—to. " I pointed to the barrier and she seemed to understand.

"How to get onto the platform?" she asked kindly. Harry and I glimpsed at each other and nodded. She smiled again.

"Not to worry," she said. "All you have to do is walk straight at the barrier between nine and ten. Don't stop and don't be scared to crash into it. That's very important. Best to do it at a run if you're nervous. Go on before Ron." I nodded.

"You go first," I suggested to Harry, nudging him forward.

"Thanks," he said dully and I watched as he did as the woman said. My eyes widened in shock as Harry seemed to melt right through the barrier, disappearing out of sight. I glanced back at the woman.

"Just like that?" I asked cautiously.

"Exactly, dear," she answered sweetly. I nodded, said thanks and looked forward, sighing. I closed my eyes and charged straight towards the barrier. I crashed into something, but it wasn't the barrier. The barrier was long gone. What I had crashed into was Harry, rubbing his head.

"Sorry," I said happily, holding back a laugh as I looked around platform nine and three quarters. It was amazing! A scarlet steam engine stood proudly on the tracks. "Blimey!" I breathed.

"I know. It's amazing. We did it!" Harry continued excitedly. We climbed onto the marvelous train. The first couple of compartments were already full but we finally found an unoccupied one on the end of the train. We placed Hedwig and Crescent inside first and tried unsuccessfully to haul our heavy luggage into the compartment.

"Need a hand?" asked the twins we had seen in the red-headed family. I nodded.

"A hand would be nice," I panted, letting go of my trunk. With the help of the twins, we finally managed to get our luggage settled away in the compartment.

"Thanks," Harry and I said in unison. Harry pushed away sweat from his bangs and immediately the two twins' eyes widened.

"Blimey, are you—?" asked one of them.

"He is," said the other. "Aren't you?" Harry and I looked back and forth from them as they took turns talking.

"What?" we asked.

"Harry Potter!" the twins chorused amazed.

"Oh, him," Harry started. "I mean, yes, I am." Harry turned pink as they gawked at him in amazement. I rolled my eyes. I took Harry's shoulder, pushed him into the compartment and turned to them.

"Thanks for the help, goodbye," I said pointedly. They realized that they were staring and shook it off, looking at me.

"Who're you?" one of them asked. I mockingly saluted.

"Lydia Black, at your service," I greeted. The twins gave identical smirks.

"You're a Black, huh? Well, Miss Black, we are _honored_ to be in your presence," joked the first.

"Absolutely dignified," the other continued. I smirked in return.

"I'm _flattered_," I played along. The twins turned to each other, impressed.

"You know, George, I think I like her," said the first, Fred.

"I couldn't agree more, Fred," agreed George. A shrill voice came from outside of the train, calling their names and the twins glanced out the window.

"Got to go," told Fred.

"See you later, Harry and Lydia!" called George as they left, returning to their family. From our compartment window, we could see the red-headed family. Harry and I watched them from the window as the mother tried to wipe something off of Ron's nose.

"Can't stay long, Mother," said the oldest, puffing out his chest which held a badge with the letter P on it. "I'm up front, the prefects have got two compartments to themselves—"

"Oh, are you a _prefect_, Percy?" George cut in. "You should have said something, we had no idea."

"Hang on, I think I remember him saying something about it," replied Fred. "Once—"

"Or twice—"

"A minute—"

"All summer—"

"Oh, shut up," shot their brother, Percy. I laughed. Once he had left, their mother turned to them warningly.

"Now, you two—this year you'll behave yourselves. If I get one more owl telling me that you've blown up a toilet, or something—"

"Blown up a toilet?" Fred said curiously. "We've never blown up a toilet."

"Great idea, though, thanks, Mom," agreed George. I laughed again as she shot them a look.

"That _is_ a good idea. We should try it," I said to Harry, smirking mischievously. He rolled his eyes but couldn't contain his smile.

"Hey, Mom, guess who we met on the train?" Harry and I both leaned back so they couldn't see us if they looked.

"You know the black-haired boy that was near us in the station? You know who he is?"

"Who?" said their mother.

"_Harry Potter_!" the chorused. The little girl's excited voice rang out, but her mother ignored it.

"Is he really? How do you know?" she asked.

"We asked him. Saw his scar. It's really there—like lightning!"

"Oh that poor _dear_! He and his friend were ever so polite when they asked how to get onto the platform. Do you know who the girl was?"

"Guess who she is?" said George eagerly.

"Lydia _Black_! She's a _Black_! I wonder if she remembers what Sirius Black looked like," Fred replied, without waiting for his mother's answer.

"More importantly, if Harry remembers what You-Know-Who looks like?" George intervened. Their mother suddenly became very stern.

"Fred and George Weasley, I _forbid_ you to ask either of them that! Harry does not need to be reminded of that on his first day of school!" their mother demanded. The whistle of the train blew. "Now hurry, you'll be late for the train!"

Fred and George clambered onto the train and leaned out of the window they had to kiss their mother goodbye. They leaned towards their crying sister. "Don't, Ginny, we'll send you loads of owls," said Fred.

"We'll send you a Hogwarts toilet seat!" George offered and received a scolding from their mother. When it started to move, their sister Ginny chased after it, half-laughing and half-crying, until it gathered too much speed and continued to wave.

I kicked my feet up onto the seat across from me as Harry and I stared out the window. The compartment door opened and I turned to see the youngest red-head, Ron, enter our compartment.

"Anyone sitting there?" he asked shyly, pointing to the seat across from Harry. "Everywhere else is full."

I smiled friendly. "Go head," I invited. "I'm Lydia Black." I held out my hand for him to take and cautiously he did and shook it.

"I'm Ron. Ron Weasley," he greeted. Harry was about to introduce himself, the twins came in once again.

"Hey, Ron, Harry, Lydia," they said. "We're going down to the middle of the train—Lee Jordan's got a massive tarantula down there," said Fred, winking. Ron shuddered slightly, but I perked up a little.

"A massive tarantula?" I repeated interestedly.

"Yeah, wanna see it?" asked George. I leaned back more and smiled.

"Nah, I'm going to stay with Harry here. Thanks though," I refused, ruffling up Harry's already messy hair. Harry shook it out again, making me giggle. When they left, Ron looked at Harry, amazed.

"Are you really Harry Potter?" he blurted out. Harry nodded. "I thought it might be one of Fred and George's jokes, you know. Have you really got—?" Ron pointed to his own forehead, implying the scar on Harry's.

Harry grinned slightly and pulled back his black bangs, revealing the thin lightning shaped scar. "Whoa," said Ron incredulously. He stared for a few moments, but realized what he was doing and looked towards the window again.

"Are all your family wizards?" Harry asked trying to spark up a conversation. The boy seemed nice enough. Plus, it would be really cool to meet someone from an all wizarding family.

"Yeah, I think so," answered Ron. "I think my mum has a second cousin or something that's an accountant but we never talk to him." I smiled.

"You're so lucky," I said. "You must know loads about magic already. I know squat." Ron looked a bit surprised.

"Really? But—er—well, you are a Black right?" he asked nervously. I nodded. "Oh. Well, I just thought that you'd know _something _about magic. I mean your family's...well…" he trailed off, not knowing how to explain it.

"Were they all wizards?" I questioned curiously. If there was something about my family that I didn't know about, I wanted to know it. He nodded.

"Most of them anyway. The Black family is well known in the wizarding world. Mostly pureblood family; mostly Slytherins," he explained. I flinched at the last fact.

"_Slytherins_?" I repeated astonishingly. I don't want to be a _Slytherin_. Ron nodded once more.

"Yeah. Only one member of the Black family hasn't been in Slytherin. He was in Gryffindor, Sirius Black," he explained, now more nervously.

"Who's that?" I asked, remembering the name from before. His brother had asked if I remembered what he looked like.

"Er, well, he's kinda your dad," he answered anxiously. I widened my eyes a bit. My dad had been a _Gryffindor_, while all the rest of his family were Slytherins? But why did he go bad if he was in Gryffindor? Wasn't Gryffindor supposed to be good?

"My _dad_?" I repeated. Ron looked even more surprised than before.

"Bloody hell, you really _do_ know nothing about the magic world!" Ron exclaimed. I shrugged, taking in the information I just received. "I heard you both went to go live with muggles. What are they like?"

"Horrible," Harry replied instantly, but then reconsidered his words. "Well, not all of them are, but my aunt, uncle and cousin are."

"They're pigs that were taught to walk on their hind legs," I continued casually. Harry and Ron laughed. As we continued to talk, we learned about Ron's rat, Scabbers, an old fat grey rat that slept all the time and the rest of his family. His family was poor apparently and he was ashamed of it, but I personally didn't think that he should be.

The wizarding world was afraid to say Lord Voldemort's name, I learned, considering Ron's reaction when Harry said it. I didn't get what the big deal was; it was just a _name_. I think it's rather silly to be afraid of a name.

About an hour and a half into the ride, a plump kind looking witch with a big smile pushed the compartment door open and said, "Anything off the trolley, dears?" I curiously looked around the door to see what was on the cart she was pushing. It appeared to be treats.

"I've got a sandwich," muttered Ron, turning pink and looking down. Harry and I jumped up. I had expected there to be Reese's Peanut Butter Cups, my favorite candy, Snickers, and Red Vines on the tables but instead there were very unusual candies that I've never seen before. Harry and I both got a little bit of everything.

We paid the woman with Sickles and Knuts and brought our armloads of treats into the compartment to a shocked Ron.

"Hungry, much?" he commented.

"What is all of this? I've never seen any of this stuff before," I said, dumping it onto the seat. Ron took out his sandwich and looked at it disgusted when pulling it apart.

"She always forgets I don't like corned beef," he groaned miserably. A small smile played on my face as I took a cauldron cake and threw it onto his lap.

"Forget the sandwich," I told him. "We have plenty of food." Ron smiled at me and I grinned back. We ate our way through the treats and candies together, while the sandwiches lay forgotten. My favorite by far was the pumpkin pasties. They were delicious!

"Those aren't actual frogs, are they?" Harry asked worriedly as Ron caught the lively Chocolate Frog and bit off its head. It had me a bit concerned too.

"No, of course not. It has an enchantment on it," Ron explained. He craned his next to see Harry's opened Chocolate Frog package. "What card have you got? I still need Agrippa."

"Huh?" asked Harry and me in unison.

"Chocolate Frogs have cards inside of them to collect. They've got famous witches and wizards on them. Course, I've got about five hundred, but still not Agrippa or Ptolemy," he explained indifferently.

"So _this_ is Dumbledore," said Harry, examining the card he got. I looked over at it and just when Harry flipped the card over from the information on the back. Dumbledore's face was gone! That was disappointing.

"He's gone!" Harry exclaimed, surprised. Ron nodded nonchalantly.

"We'll you don't expect him to hang around forever, do you," he stated naturally. I blinked a couple of times and looked down at my own card, Rowena Ravenclaw. I recognized the name as one of the houses at Hogwarts. I looked on in amazement as I realized she was one of the founders.

I had a particularly good time with the Bertie Botts Every Flavor Beans. They weren't kidding when they said every flavor. I ate everyone I got without hesitation, and got mostly lucky with them, but I was unfortunate enough to come across a soap flavored one.

I was so involved in a conversation with my friends, that I didn't even notice the knock on the compartment door. I jumped when I saw a tall, cute blonde boy standing in the doorway. He smiled amicably and nodded his head.

"Hey do you mind if I sit here for a while? My friends are…well, idiots," he asked, slightly timidly. There was something about him that really surprised me; his voice sounded American. He was from America?

"Sure," Ron accepted. The boy grinning again in thanks and sat down across from me, looking around at us.

"Are you guys first years?" he examined. We all nodded. "That's why you're all so short." I glared slightly.

"I resent that!" I cried. He chuckled.

"Just kidding, just kidding! I'm in my fourth year, so I don't know you yet. My name is Jason Ericson," he introduced, holding his hand out to us. I shook his hand and nodded at him.

"I'm Lydia. Lydia Black," I said, leaning back into my chair. His eyes widened.

"_You're_ Lydia Black?" he repeated, astounded. I was taken back a bit. Now I know how Harry felt.

"Um, yes?" I answered ruefully. He seemed to gather himself together after realizing that he was staring, and shook his head.

"I'm sorry. It's just, I didn't know that you'd be, well, here," he explained. I furrowed my eyebrows quizzically and just decided to go with it.

"Thanks, I think," I replied. Jason seemed a little more relieved and Harry and Ron introduced themselves to the older boy. He, of course, was surprised when he discovered Harry was, well, Harry, but not as surprised as he was to find out whom I was. I didn't know whether to feel flattered or worried.

We heard a shriek from the corridor and Jason slapped his hand to his forehead. "Oh, those _idiots_," he commented, standing up. He turned back to us. "See you guys around." He started to walk out, but stopped and turned back again. "Oh, by the way, you want Gryffindor. It's the best." He smiled and finally left.

"He seemed nice," I said considerately. "Weird, but nice." My friends nodded in agreement. Several people seemed to follow Jason's lead in coming into our compartment, which was ok at first, but soon got on my nerves.

"Sorry, but have you seen a toad?" A shy, tearful boy with dark hair asked timidly, entering our compartment. We shook our heads and the boy fell into a hopeless look. "I've lost him again! He keeps getting away from me!"

"Don't worry; he'll turn up soon," I reassured genially. The boy blushed slightly when his eyes fell on me and he nodded sadly.

"Yeah," the boy muttered miserably. "If you see him, just tell me…" And he left.

"I'd lose a toad if I'd brought one too," Ron added, shrugging. "Instead I've got Scabbers." He looked spiritlessly at his fat rat, still snoozing in his lap. "I swear, he could have died and you wouldn't know the difference. Fred and George taught me a spell to turn him yellow, but I don't think it works."

He pulled out his old, chipped wand and pointed it at the rat, preparing for a demonstration by clearing his throat and sitting up straight. He had only just raised his wand when the compartment door slid open again. In the doorway was a young girl with bushy brown hair and front teeth a little too big and she was already in her school robes.

"Has anyone seen a toad? Neville's lost one," she asked. She had a rather bossy sort of voice. I wasn't exactly sure if I was going to get on well with her at the moment.

"We already told him we hadn't," replied Ron impatiently, but the girl was no longer listening and staring intently at his raised wand.

"Oh, are you doing magic? Let's see it then," she encouraged, sitting down on one of the open seats. I raised my eyebrows a bit at Ron's taken back expression.

He cleared his throat once more. "_Sunshine, daises, butter mellow, Turn this stupid, fat rat yellow!" _Ron chanted. Everyone stared at the still grey and fat rat. I nodded slowly.

"Well, that was effective," I stated sarcastically. Ron sighed.

"I _knew_ I shouldn't have believed Fred and George," he groaned. The girl then went on this weird rant about magic for her. She was muggle-born apparently and spent her whole summer reading text books that she had bought. She seemed like an overachiever and sass to me, which annoyed me to the extreme.

"I'm Hermione Granger, by the way—who are you?" she ended her very long and quickly paced rant. Harry, Ron and I glanced from each other with stunned looks.

"I'm Ron Weasley," Ron muttered carefully.

"Lydia Black," I said, hoping not to set her off with my name.

"Harry Potter," Harry introduced.

"Good lord—are you really?" she exclaimed. "I've read so much about you! You're in _Modern Magical History_, _Rise and Fall of the Dark Arts_ and _Great Wizarding Events of the Twentieth Century_."

"I am?" Harry spoke, looking absolutely dazed. I barked out a laugh.

"It's gonna be television for you next, Potter," I commented. Harry flushed.

"Shuttup," he mumbled. I snickered. I didn't even listen to the other half of Hermione's speech, to avoid a major headache. I threw my head up to the seat when she finally left.

"Goodness, she gave me a freaking headache!" I complained, rubbing my head. "I swear, some people should come with an on and off button. I'd use it in many cases." Harry and Ron laughed in agreement.

"Well, whatever house I'm in, I hope she's not," Ron declared. Of course, our time with just the three of us in the compartment didn't last. Sure enough, another three came barging in. Oh great, it's _him_. The robe boy. This time, he wasn't alone, and with the two thick boys standing at his sides, he looked more lank than usual.

"So, is it true? Is Harry Potter at the end of the train, in this compartment?" he demanded with a sneer fresh on his pale face. I narrowed my eyes defensively.

"What's it to you?" I ordered coldly. His cool blue eyes snapped towards me and instead of the cruel reaction I was expecting, he smirked.

"Black hair, pale skin, beauty and a fiery temper…you're a Black, aren't you?" he observed. Despite my surprise, my expression tightened. His eyes turned towards Ron to examine him.

"Red hair, freckles, and hand-me-down robes; you're a Weasley," he stated, still staring at Ron. "You'll find out soon that some wizarding families are much better than others, Potter. Some are the wrong sort—you don't want to go making friends with them. I can help you there. "He stuck out his hand to Harry confidently.

"Draco Malfoy," he introduced, and indicated to his two bodyguards with his head. "This Crabbe and Goyle." I glared, crossing my thin arms over my chest. I was doing everything I could to fight the urge to just punch him right in his stupid face. How dare he try to tell Harry who his friends are!

Harry didn't take his hand. "I think I can tell who the wrong sorts are for myself, thanks," he replied icily. A pink tint appeared on Malfoy's face and his hand slowly slid back down to his side.

"I'd be careful if I were you, Potter," he warned. "Your parents didn't know what was good for them either. That'll rub off on you if you hang around riffraff like the Weasleys and that Hagrid." He looked me (I was now wearing a very furious expression) over, nodding his head slowly. "The Blacks are alright, as long as they're not blood traitors like _her_."

Fuming, Harry, Ron and I shot up but it was me who pushed through my friends, right up to Malfoy's face. "Want to say that again?" I retorted dangerously. Malfoy, Crabbe and Goyle took a second to shot incredulous glances at one another, before bursting out in heavy laughter.

"Oh, _you're _gonna fight us? A little girl?" Malfoy mocked, ignoring my precariously fiery red hair. I set my jaw and growled, sounding much like an angry, vicious dog.

"You don't think I will? Just because your precious bodyguards are three times the size of me, you don't think I'll take you?! I've beat up people three times the size of _them_!" I snarled, making a point of cracking my knuckles. Malfoy and his friends quieted down, realizing that I wasn't bluffing. I took a step towards them and they responded my stepping backwards.

"Get out now!" I demanded sharply. "And next time don't expect a warning." Malfoy stared me down but realized his defeat. He turned around and muttering to his bodyguards to leave, and disappeared from our compartment. I turned around to see Ron's face set in a deep expression of awe and amazement and Harry's a simple triumphant smile.

"That was _incredible_! We need you as _our_ bodyguard," Ron exclaimed. The corner of my mouth lifted slightly and I shrugged one shoulder.

"I guess," I answered modestly. I peered down at my old watch, reading the late time that we would probably arrive at Hogwarts. "We should change into our robes. We're nearly there, I assume." They nodded and along with me pulled out their black robes. I made Harry and Ron leave the compartment when I changed and in turn left while they did.

The light in the train quickly dimmed and throughout it, the electric lights blazed the train. The train slowly came to a stop. Leaving our luggage behind, Harry, Ron and I pushed through the crowd onto a tiny, dark platform outside of the train. I shuddered the moment my exposed skin hit the freezing air.

"Firs' years! Firs' years over here!" a familiar voice boomed through the crowd. I turned to meet the large warm face of Hagrid and grinned.

"Hi Hagrid!" I yelled happily. Hagrid beamed in Harry and I's direction.

"Harry, Lydia, all righ' there?" he greeted genially. As the group of first years like us stumbled and slipped down the narrow, following Hagrid.

"He's huge! Who is he?" Ron asked flabbergasted. I smiled.

"That's Hagrid. He's the gamekeeper here," Harry explained to him, sounding pleased. As we followed the steep path, a dark sparkling lake slowly came into view and eventually a giant castle with torch lit windows and passage ways. There were gasps throughout our group.

"Bloody hell!" I blurted out loudly; much loader than anyone else. I ignored the glances in my direction. A set of small boats were parked on the shore of the black lake, waiting for us.

"No more than four ter a boat!" Hagrid called out. Harry, Ron and I took the closest one, and Hermione sat with us. I chose to ignore her, in the value of my sanity. Once everyone was in their own boats, they all glided across the lake together.

By the time the boats lurched onto the other side of the shore, I was shaking. Not from nerves, or fear, or even anticipation; but from pure excitement. Harry, Ron and I trudged up to the front, right behind Hagrid, and clambered up the stony passage to the castle doors.

Hagrid knocked three times on them. "Welcome to Hogwarts, firs' years," he announced softly. The giant oak doors swung open slowly.

…**And that's it for the chapter! The sorting is in the next chapter obviously and I hope you all enjoyed this chappie! ^.^ I really hope the next chapter won't take me another month to write, but I can't promise anything.**

**Review please!!! Thanks for reading!**

**CaptJess :)**


	5. Welcome to Hogwarts

**Mwahahaha! This didn't take a month! Only four days! That's like a new record for me! Be proud. Haha! Just as a warning, this chapter is shorter than the rest of them, so sorry if it's disappointing. I really wanted it to be longer but I'm trying to do one chapter relating to the chapter in the book, and I thought that where I stopped was a good place to stop. I couldn't think of anything else to add in (PS. That's why this author note is so long cause I'm trying to make the chapter longer. Hehehe! Mischief!)**

**Disclaimer: Same as before.**

**Enjoy!!**

In the middle of the doorway stood a tall black haired witch in emerald green robes. Her hair was pulled into a tight bun and her face was very stern and serious. She scanned our group with her green eyes and nodded once at Hagrid.

"Thank you, I will take them from here," she stated. With once last glance at Hagrid, I followed her, along with the rest of the first years, into the stone entrance hall. It was so massive that you could have put two houses in it and it would still have enough room for a third. The stone walls were torch lit and cast a welcoming glow throughout the room.

The professor led us into a much smaller chamber, and stopped at doorway from which hundreds of chattering voices came from the other side. That must have been where the rest of the school was. We gathered around the professor as she turned to face us.

"Welcome to Hogwarts," she greeted, and even her smile seemed strict. "I am Professor McGonagall and I am the Transfiguration professor, as well as head of Gryffindor House. Now, when you go into the Great Hall just past this door, you will come up one by one to be sorted into your Houses. Your fellow students in your own House will be somewhat of a family while you are here; as you will sleep in the house dormitory, have classes with the rest of your house, and eat with your house."

"There are four Houses; Gryffindor, Hufflepuff, Ravenclaw and Slytherin. While you are at Hogwarts, your triumphs will earn your house points, while any rule-breaking will lose your house points. The house with the most points at the end of the year will win the honorable House Cup. I will be back in a few minutes to get you."

Once she left, I turned to Harry. "Well, I'm screwed. Rule-breaking loses house points," I said thoughtfully.

"Don't break rules then," he suggested. I raised my eyebrows as if that was the most ridiculous suggestion in the world.

"Harry, do you know me at all?" I commented rhetorically.

"Good point," he responded. He then turned to Ron. "How do they sort us into the houses?"

"Fred said it was some sort of test that hurts a lot. I think he was joking about the hurting part. Hopefully," Ron answered.

"_A test_?" I repeated worriedly. I looked around at the fellow first years and I was relieved to see that nearly all of them looked terrified. I wasn't exactly _terrified_ but I definitely wasn't at peace. My stomach gave a both excited and sickening jolt when McGonagall reentered and gestured for us to follow her.

We got into a straight line, me in front of Harry and Ron and nervously followed McGonagall into the Great Hall. I let in a sharp breath the minute I got a full view of the Hall. The stars twinkled above us on the ceiling and a briefly heard Hermione Granger saying how it was enchanted to look like the current sky. Four long, polished wooden tables took up most of the hall, while a fifth; smaller table headed the hall, where the teachers sat. Candles floated a few feet above the heads of the students.

It had gone silent throughout the Hall, and I took my eyes away from the interior of it. They rested on what everyone else was looking at, sitting on top of a rickety four-legged stool.

It was a hat. An old, worn, ancient hat.

I stared at it intently for no reason in particular. If we had to fix it to make it look new, I was hopeless. I nearly jumped a foot into the air when it suddenly twitched and a rip near the brim opened. It did the exact opposite of what I had expected it to do; it started to sing.

When it finished its song about the Houses and its founders, the audience of students and teacher burst into applause. The first years were stunned but we clapped reluctantly as well, completely confused. So all we had to do was try on the hat? That was simple enough. I felt a lot more confident now and smiled eagerly.

McGonagall stepped forward, carrying a long roll of parchment. She adjusted her spectacles and focused on the list. "When I call your name, please come forward, place the hat on your head and sit until you are sorted," she demanded, and looked back down at the list. "Abbott, Hannah!"

A small, timid girl with blonde pigtails and a pink face stepped up to the hat and placed it on her head. It was so big that it fell right over her eyes. A moment of silence came before—

"HUFFLEPUFF!" the hat shouted. The table on the far left cheered loudly and Hannah rushed over to it. I didn't even notice the colors of each table when I entered. Hufflepuff's color seemed to be yellow. I was about to examine the other students, but…

"Black, Lydia!" McGonagall called. Right, my last name just _had _to start with a B. A wave of interest went through the crowd at the mention of my name. I glanced back at Harry who gave me an encouraging nudge. I advanced slowly to the hat and placed it on top of my head, almost falling over my eyes. I was startled when a quiet voice rang in my ear.

"Well, well, well, another Black?" the hat said thoughtfully. "Hogwarts has had many Blacks, all great wizards. All except one were in Slytherin." I nodded.

"Yeah, I know," I told the hat regretfully. It noticed my displeasure.

"Not too fond of Slytherin, eh? Rebellious, just like your father," the hat examined. I jumped at the mention of my dad. He was rebellious? "Yes, very rebellious indeed. And yes, I can read your thoughts. Great spirit, you've got; and a very true heart. Incredible courage, friendship, loyalty and my, what a temper you've got. I could almost say that you are exactly like your father."

The hat paused for a minute, thinking over its choice. "Well, it looks like—GRYFFINDOR!" I beamed instantly, my face full of relief. The second table to the right shot up in applause and whistles and I bounced proudly towards it. I shot a wink at Harry and Ron as I sat down in between the Weasley twins and Jason Ericson and they gave me thumbs up and grins.

"Good job," Jason muttered to me happily. I grinned at him jovially, and shot the same look towards Fred and George, who also congratulated me. I turned my eyes back to the sorting where a girl, named 'Bones, Susan' had just gotten sorted into Hufflepuff. I glanced around at the teachers and caught the eye of one; one that made me shudder and actually fear for my life.

"Who's he?" I asked the older boys, nodding my head at the teacher with greasy black hair and cold black eyes glaring at me with disgust and hatred. I flinched away from his gaze.

"Oh, that's just _lovely_ Professor Snape," Jason explained sarcastically. "Don't take the glare personally; he hates everyone."

"Everyone that isn't in Slytherin, that is," George corrected. "He's head of the Slytherin house, and the potions master—"

"And a downright git," Fred finished. George and Jason nodded in agreement. Jason glanced back at the teacher's table at Snape and looked away quickly.

"Wow, he looks PO'd," he added and turned back to me. "I'd watch out for him, if I were you." I sighed.

"Great; I've been here twenty minutes and already a teacher hates me. And I haven't even done anything…yet," I said deliberately. Fred and George picked up on my last word.

"Yet?" they questioned together. I looked at them.

"Yet," I repeated. They smirked identically.

"And just what do you have in plan?" Fred asked interestedly. I shrugged.

"Dunno yet. I don't really know any good magical jokes or pranks to pull. All the muggle ones are boring and I've done all of them. Got any good ideas?" I asked. The twins glanced at each other and chuckled.

"Well, you just happen to be talking to the two greatest pranksters in the school at the moment," George informed, prideful. I raised an eyebrow and smirked.

"Oh really? Is that a competition, I hear?" I mused cheekily. The twins smirked wider.

"You're on," they said in unison and we shook hands. Jason sighed.

"Just as a forewarning, I'm not covering up for any of you, after that week's worth of detention I got because a _certain pair of brothers_ forgot to inform Filch that they made a new trick step," said the fourth year boy pointedly.

"You even said that it was worth it by the look of Filch's face!" Fred intervened. Jason shrugged it off with a waved of his hand.

"Details, details…"he responded and turned back to the sorting. I giggled and focused on it as well, just in time to see Hermione Granger head towards the Gryffindor table and sit across from me. Wonderful. Ok, so she wasn't that bad, but she just needed to stop babbling.

"I'm so glad I got into Gryffindor!" she started, buzzing with excitement. I sighed and tuned out her voice as she conversed with the rest of the students around us, and continued to watch the sorting.

The toad boy, Neville Longbottom, stumbled forward to the hat and after a long pause was announced a Gryffindor. I didn't laugh when he ran off with the hat still on his head; he seemed nervous enough already. I rolled my eyes heavily when Malfoy was declared a Slytherin, like he wanted. It barely had to touch his greasy pale hair. We met eyes and glared at each other until he took his place at the Slytherin table.

After a few minutes, the name "Potter, Harry!" was called. I perked up and smiled at him, ignoring the enthusiastic and curious whispers around the hall about my best friend. Harry set the hat on top of his head calmly, and waited.

A long silence followed, and Harry started to tense up. I crossed my fingers eagerly. "Come on, Potter," I muttered to myself. More silence…

"GRYFFINDOR!"

"Yes!" I exclaimed loudly, shooting out of my seat. I cheered and whistled loudly, beaming. Harry had received the loudest cheer from any table yet. The Weasley twins yelled, "We've got Potter! We've got Potter!" Harry, his face flushed red, rushed to our table. I hugged him joyfully.

He took a seat next to me, and he received congratulations from all over the Gryffindor table. I looked over at the teachers again and saw that Snape was now glaring at Harry, only with even more hatred. I scoffed and looked away. What a jerk.

I chatted with Harry, Fred, George and Jason until I heard Ron's name be called. Looking green, he put on the hat. Only a few seconds later the hat shouted, "GRYFFINDOR!" as well. I beamed again and whooped loudly with the rest of my house. Ron's ears were red as he plopped into the seat next to Harry. We congratulated him along with his brothers.

The Sorting finally finished with "Zabini, Blaise" being sorted into Slytherin and McGonagall rolled up the scroll, taking the old hat away from the stool. An old man with long silver hair and a beard to match stood and beamed at all of the students. His blue eyes twinkled under his half-moon spectacles as his arms opened wide as a welcome. This was Albus Dumbledore.

"Welcome!" Dumbledore greeted. "Welcome to a new year at Hogwarts! Before the feast, I'd like to say a few words: Nitwit, Blubber, Oddment, Tweak! Thank you!" I stared at him, confused, as he sat and the rest of the students cheered.

I shrugged to myself and looked down at the plates. I did a double-take and my eyes widened. My jaw dropped open as I stared at the mounds of fresh delicious food of every type I could think of. I didn't even notice the many people giving me cautious looks as I just stared at the food, most likely drooling at the mouth.

"Lydia, a-are you alright?" Ron asked carefully. I slowly lifted my eyes to face him.

"No. I've died and gone to heaven…"I answered dreamily. My friends laughed when I suddenly started piling everything I could reach on my plate. Especially the chicken; I really do love chicken. As the many students of Hogwarts began digging in to the sumptuous meals before them, the noise in the hall reached staggering heights.

I dug into my food gleefully, seeing as I never had a meal this good in my life; and not just a meal, a feast. With all-you-can-eat chicken! It truly was my heaven.

"That does look rather good," a man's voice from behind me said. When I turned around, I nearly screamed in shock. There was a man there, but when I tried to look at him, all I could see was, well, through him. He was pearly-white and transparent; a—a _ghost_!

"I haven't eaten for nearly four hundred years," said the same ghost sadly, the one wearing an old-fashion neck ruff. "I do miss it. Forgive me; I'm Sir Nicholas de Mimsy-Porpington, at your service. The ghost of the Gryffindor tower."

"I know you are! My brothers told me about you—you're Nearly Headless Nick!" Ron announced interestedly.

"Well, I'd prefer if you called me—"the ghost started stiffly, but another boy, whom I knew as Seamus Finnigan interrupted.

"_Nearly_ headless? How can you be _nearly _headless?" he asked in an Irish accent. Sir Nicholas looked agitated, and defeated.

"Like this," he sighed testily. He grabbed the left side of his head and pulled. His head fell onto his right shoulder, held together by only a little flap of skin. Whoever tried to behead him needed to learn how to use an axe. The closest Gryffindors all blanched and quickly retreated from the sight. I turned back around when he had placed his head back onto his neck, where it should be and always stay.

"Well," Nicholas continued, "I surely hope that all of you new Gryffindors are going to help us win the house cup this year! The Slytherins have had in six years in a row now." He gestured over to the Slytherin table where another ghost, named the Bloody Baron, was sitting. Fortunately, it was next to Malfoy who didn't look very happy.

The entrees soon disappeared only to be replaced by a new round of desserts. Of course I was already full, but that didn't stop me from piling cakes and pies and ice creams onto my plate. The chatter around us was now on the subject of families. I discovered that Seamus Finnigan and Dean Thomas were half-blood while Neville Longbottom was pure-blood.

"I don't think I ever really did anything magical. Not that I know of," I said, joining the conversation after Neville story on his first magical act.

"What about your hair?" Ron asked. I looked at him, confused.

"What do you mean?" I questioned. He took another bite of his apple pie and looked up.

"It turned red before. Like completely red. Redder than mine," he explained. I shrugged casually.

"I dunno. It just does that when I get angry. It always has," I answered offhandedly. Jason furrowed his eyebrows.

"You mean you can change it whenever you like?" he clarified.

"Not whenever I like per se. More with…"

"Emotions," Jason finished for me. I nodded. He paused and examined me for a moment, then stated matter-of-factly, "I think you're a Metamorphmagus." I blinked a few times while other examined me interestedly. I was glad to see that Harry looked confused as well.

"What the heck is that?" I asked, flabbergasted.

"It means you can change your appearance at will," Dean Thomas answered. My expression must have been a stunned one, considering the looks on other people's faces.

"Try changing your hair to a random color," Jason suggested. I looked at him hopelessly.

"How?" I simply stated. He shrugged.

"I don't know. You're the Metamorphmagus," he replied matter-of-factly. I narrowed my eyes, highly irritated.

"I don't even know if I _am_ a Meta-whatsitcalled! "I protested huffily. He sighed.

"Metamorphmagus," he corrected impatiently. "Just try it. Focus on changing it or something."

I closed my eyes, ignoring the stares intent on me. I pictured my hair blue and nothing but it. I felt a prickling on my head, like bugs were crawling around on it, spreading throughout the length. I opened my eyes when those around me suddenly gasped, and looked around at the amazed faces of Harry, Ron, Hermione, Jason, Dean, Seamus, Neville, Fred, George, and Percy (Ron's brother).

"What? Did it work?" I asked them curiously. A couple of them smiled at each other and me. I looked down at my hair, picking up a few strands and let out a gasp myself. It really was blue. Bright freaking blue.

"You really are a Metamorphmagus," stated Percy, in an interested but slightly formal voice. "Congratulations. Metamorphmagi are really very rare. It's less rare to meet one. I'm Percy Weasley." He stuck out his hand befittingly. I looked at him weirdly because of his very official tone but took it anyway.

"Lydia Black," I responded, nodding my head towards him very, well, informally. He looked surprised but shook it off, going back to his conversation with Hermione about school subjects. Nerds. I looked back down at my hair to see that it faded to its normal wavy pitch black self.

By the time almost all of the food filled the stomachs of every student, I was merely picking at my food, too stuffed to eat another bite. Ok, maybe just one more…I went to take a bite, but suddenly the desserts vanished. The hall simultaneously fell silent as Dumbledore stood once again.

"I have just a few more words now that we are all fed and watered. First years, please note that the forest on the grounds is forbidden to all pupils. And it would be best if a few of our older students remember that as well," he noted, his eyes twinkling as they rested on the Weasley twins.

"I have also been asked by Mr. Filch, the caretaker, to remind you all that no magic should be used between classes in the corridors. Quidditch trials will be held in the second week of the term. Anyone interested in playing for their house teams should contact Madam Hooch. Finally, I would like to add that this year the third floor corridor on the right side is out of bounds to anyone who does not wish to die a most painful death."

I laughed nervously, as did Harry, but we stopped when we realized that most of the students weren't laughing. I leaned toward Harry. "Wait, was he serious?" Harry shrugged.

Dumbledore smiled, lightening the mood in the Hall. "Now, before we go to bed, let us sing the school song! Pick your favorite tune and everyone join in!" He gave his wand a little flick and reluctantly, the school started to sing. At first I thought he meant favorite tune as in favorite song, so I started to sing "While My Guitar Gently Weeps" by the Beatles, but stopped when most people belted:

_Hogwarts, Hogwarts, Hoggy Warty Hogwarts,  
Teach us something please,  
Whether we be old and bald,  
Or young with scabby knees  
Our heads could do with filling,  
With some interesting stuff,  
For now they're bare and full of air,  
Dead flies and bits of fluff,  
So teach us things worth knowing,  
Bring back what we've forgot,  
Just do your best, we'll do the rest,  
And learn until our brains all rot._

I surprised myself when I found that I knew the right words. Everyone finished at different times. Fred and George were last, with them singing to a very slow funeral march tempo. After everyone had finished, Dumbledore announced bedtime.

I stuck near Harry, Ron, and the newest friends I had made (Neville, Seamus and Dean) and sleepily followed them as Percy led us through the crowds and up the great marble staircase. After what seemed like a million years, we halted unexpectedly. Percy took a hesitant step forward and a bundle of walking sticks floating in front of us threw themselves at him.

"Peeves show yourself!" he demanded.

"Do you want me to go to the Bloody Baron?" a loud, rude voice sounded out of nowhere. Suddenly, a little man, sitting cross-legged in the air appeared. He wore a wicked smile. "Ickle firsties! What fun!"

"Go away Peeves, or the Baron _will_ hear about this!" Percy ordered. Peeves stuck out his tongue and zoomed away, dropping sticks on Neville's head in the process. "Watch out for Peeves, the school's poltergeist. The only person he'll obey is the Bloody Baron." The small group of us first years stopped before a large, ornate painting of a rather voluptuous woman dressed in a rather over the top frilly pink gown.

"Password?" she said kindly.

"Caput draconis," said Percy clearly, and the door swung open.

A large fire crackled on one side of the room, casting a warm glow over the scarlet walls. Banners embellished with the Gryffindor crest hung from the walls, and squashy chairs and sofas littered the room. Polished wooden tables were set around the perimeter of the room, and I noticed something outside the common room; something that looked like an oddly shaped American football field. Quidditch maybe?

"Girls dormitories are on the right and boys are on the left. The dormitories are in order by year, so the dormitories you will enter will be the first you come to," he explained in a bored voice. "Off to bed now! Don't want to be late for classes tomorrow!"

I turned to Harry thoughtfully. "You know, this is the first time we haven't shared a room since we were one years old," I informed. He considered this.

"It is. Thank god," he joked. I shoved him in the shoulder and laughed. I bid my best friend goodnight and watched as he, Ron, Neville, Dean, and Seamus headed to their dormitory. I looked around, realizing that I had no one to share with. Curse my being a tomboy!

I turned sharply, feeling a tap on my shoulder. It was Hermione. "Hello. Do you want to share a room with myself, Lavender and Parvati? We have room for another person," she offered and gestured to two first year girls near her. I paused, and finally decided that at least trying to make friends with the girls was better than completely ignoring them…somewhat.

I hesitantly nodded. "Yeah, sure. Thanks." Hermione smiled and took my arm leading me with Lavender and Parvati to a room.

The room was gorgeous! It was a semi-large, and there were four comfy beds with royal red and gold covers, arranged in a semi-circle on one half of the room. The other half consisted of two giant brown dressers, so that two people could each share one. Next to each bed was a chocolate colored, the same color as the dressers, nightstand.

I found my luggage set near a bed near the window, and immediately marched over to it not waiting for anyone's opinions on what their bed should be. I should have probably tried to be kinder to them, but at the moment I was so tired that I didn't even care. I smiled at Crescent, who hooted gleefully at me.

Lavender, Parvati and Hermione gasped concurrently. "She's _beautiful_!" adored Lavender, sitting on the edge of my bed and attempted to stroke her beak. Crescent did an odd sort of happily dance and nipped Lavender affectionately. Great, I had a girly-girl owl. I smiled, nonetheless.

"Thanks," I replied. I pulled my favorite camouflage hat out of my trunk and place it backward onto my head as I watched the three much more girly girls coo over my black barn owl. I changed into a black tank top and camouflage sweatpants to match my hat while they were absorbed with her.

"What's her name?" Parvati chattered. The corner of my mouth lifted again as I sat on a different bed.

"Crescent," I replied proudly. The three girls smiled. I carefully glanced at Hermione, fearing that she'd breaking into a speech on the history of owls or something. She never did.

Instead, she said, "You should let her out to hunt. After she's done, she'll find her way to the owlery." I nodded and picked up her cage carefully and unlatched it when the window was opened. Crescent stretched out her gorgeous black wings, hooted happily and took off into the night. I rolled my eyes as the girls let out 'awww's.

I walked over to another door and slowly opened it, hoping for the bathroom. And the bathroom it was. I took off the very slight bit of makeup I was wearing, which was just a bit of black eyeliner (I had stolen it from Petunia), and brushed my teeth. I was about to go back into the room but I hesitated and turned back to the mirror.

Concentrating on blue and only blue once more, I narrowed my eyes at my reflection. I felt the familiar prickling once again and slowly, I saw my hair fading into blue. Bright freaking blue. I smiled at myself in the mirror, feeling accomplished and special. I thought of black and almost instantly, it changed to normal.

I stalked back into the now dark room and plopped into my bed. I stared at the ceiling, clutching my necklace in my right hand, which I often did when I was in thought. I was just in the process of thinking how I probably wasn't going to be able to sleep because of how excited I was, when my vision went black and I found myself in dreamland.

**That's it for the chappie. Once again, sorry it's so short. I highly doubt that the next chapter will take more than two weeks because I've been writing a little bit pretty much every day and so I'm kinda getting through this story slowly but quicker than before.**

**Hope you liked it! Review!! :D**

**CaptJess :)**


	6. The First Week

**Hi, hi! Ok, so this took a little longer than I thought it would. You can blame my computer for this one…honestly! It crashed on me for about the 15****th**** time. God, I hate this thing. (Desperately hoping for a laptop!) The other part of this taking so slow was just out of pure procrastination. Cause I'm **_**that**_** cool! Haha, jk. **

**Well, I know I already explained this in a reply to the reviewer, but I'm gonna post it again, just to make sure everything is clarified:**

**afsd94: Lydia is a half-blood. Her parents can both be a wizard and a witch. Her dad was pure-blood, but it would only make Lydia pureblood if her mom was pureblood too. And her mom's not, so that makes her half-blood. Thanks for the question and the review :)**

**Disclaimer: Same as all the others before.**

"Are you sure she's not dead?"

"Yes, I'm sure. Lydia, wake up."

"She's not waking up."

"She will. Just help me."

"Lydia, its 7:30. You need to wake up."

I heard the sound of voices in my ear distinctly and they accomplished their goal. I was awake. I groaned sleepily and mumbled, "Too early."

"Yes, but it's time to get up. You can't be late for the first day." My eyes finally opened to meet the sight of Hermione, Lavender and Parvati standing over me, all in their new uniforms. I reluctantly sat up.

"Alright, I'm up," I said weakly, and stumbled up. I grabbed my new uniform and got ready for the first day of classes in the bathroom. When I was finished, I headed down to the common room alone. The other three girls were already gone.

Stepping out of the common room, I almost ran into someone…some_thing_. It was a small, fluffy cat the color of dust. It looked up at me with big yellow eyes and meowed angrily. "Watch where you're going!" I heard someone yell. I looked up at an older, filthy looking man glared at me with a furious expression.

"You almost stepped on her!" he yelled.

"S-Sorry. I didn't see your cat," I croaked. He glared more.

"Name?" he spat.

"Um, Lydia Black," I answered him. His eyes narrowed even more than before.

"Black. I'm watching you, you delinquent!" he snarled and stalked off. I watched him leave with a completely surprised expression. I shrugged it off and headed down to the Great Hall.

I plopped down next to Harry and Ron while in the Great Hall and greeted them. They seemed just as tired as I was. I gasped as I spotted a coffee jug and poured myself a cup of coffee. I held the cup out to Harry.

"Coffee?" I offered. He shook his head. I shrugged and took a sip of my own. It didn't help much with my drowsiness but I still liked the taste. McGonagall came around and passed out schedules as we were eating our breakfasts. I, and most of my fellow students, was delighted to find that all the first year Gryffindors had the same schedules.

Our first class was Herbology taught by Professor Sprout, a short plump witch. It definitely wasn't the worst, but I wasn't really into it. Neville seemed to enjoy it though. I had hoped that the classes would get a little better, but hey, it was only the first day.

I nearly fell asleep in History of Magic class. It was the most boring hour I have ever experienced in my life. There were some people who attempted to take notes while Professor Binns, the only ghost professor, droned on and on about magical history. I, on the other hand, talked to Harry through a piece of paper.

Charms was taught by a very little wizard named Professor Flitwick. During roll call, he stuttered nervously at my name and gave an excited squeak at Harry's. I rolled my eyes at this and smirked a little towards an uneasy Harry.

It was Thursday, September 5th when we had our first Transfiguration class; Aka, it was my birthday! I was finally 11! According to Ron, I should have been in the year after them because I was born after September 1st, 1980. This made me confused but I didn't question it much. I needed to be in Harry's year. Overall, my birthday was a good one.

McGonagall was indeed someone you did not want to cross. She was very serious in her class, especially when she was lecturing us about paying attention and staying on task. I had a sinking feeling that she wasn't going to like me much. Paying attention and staying on task weren't really two of my greatest abilities.

Our lesson for that day was to take difficult notes and to change a matchstick into a needle. Most of the class struggled with this task, except for Hermione Granger, of course. It seemed like she could do anything. I sighed and looked down at my own matchstick. Well, it looked a little silver at least.

I was really excited for Defense Against the Dark Arts. Until I got there anyway. The whole class turned out to be on the bad side, much to my displeasure. I had a strong dislike against Professor Quirrell already; he was way too jumpy for my liking. Plus, his room smelled nauseatingly of garlic.

I was kind of dreading Potions come Friday. The Potions master scared me already and I hadn't even met him. My fears were confirmed in the class; he _hated _me! We had the lesson with the Slytherins, whom he favored. Snape took roll call at the beginning of the class. This was my first clue:

"Black, Lydia," he spat out the name like a curse. It was very tense in the room and all I wanted to do was lighten it a little.

"I'm here. Hold the applause," I joked. A couple people in the class giggled but were silenced by Snape's glare. Uh-oh.

"Miss Black, I would prefer if you refrain from arrogance in my class," he scolded unpleasantly. I gulped a little.

"Sorry. I-I was just trying to, er, lightening the mood a little. I'm here," I said a little more formally. He still kept a sharp look on his ugly face.

"I'm here, _sir_," he corrected. I honestly didn't know what he was getting at, and I was becoming a little frustrated with him.

"But I'm a girl," I argued.

"Silence!" he snapped. I jumped back a bit, but kept a brave look on my face. He stepped closer to me and leaned onto the table in front of me. Neville, who was beside me, jumped back in fright. I didn't flinch. "Black, I do not tolerate smart mouths in this classroom! 5 points from Gryffindor!"

"B-but I—"I stammered indignantly.

"Do you want to make that 10, Black?" Snape hissed. I fell silent and looked away, folding my arms across my chest. I glared at him when his back was turned. He paused at Harry's name as well. "Ah, Harry Potter. Our new—_celebrity_."

I glared at Draco Malfoy and his bodyguards, Crabbe and Goyle, who were trying to hide their laughter behind their hands. Snape went on a speech about his class. I listened because I didn't want to get in trouble again, but I could help but giggling when he said 'dunderhead'.

"Hey, Harry. Are you a dunderhead?" I whispered jokingly. I couldn't help it; it was an amusing word.

"No. Are you a dunderhead?" he joked back.

"Nope, dunderhead I am not. Dunderhead are you?"

"I'm not a dunderhead; you're not a dunderhead; who's a dunderhead?" We glanced at each other and hand to clasp our hands really hard against our mouths to stop from bursting out in loud, hysterical laughter right there. Our laughs were successfully stifled, but that didn't stop us from making a little bit of noise.

"Potter!" Snape exclaimed loudly and suddenly, making Harry and I both jump startled. "What would I get if I added powered root of asphodel to an infusion of wormwood?" Hermione's hand shot up into the air, but Harry looked puzzled. As did I.

"I don't know, sir," Harry replied uneasily.

"Tut, tut- fame clearly isn't everything." Snape's lip curled into a cruel sneer as he stared at Harry. "Black, where would you look if I told you to find me a bezoar?" I gave a shocked expression. Snape still ignored Hermione's raised hand.

"I-I don't k-know…uh, sir," I replied weakly. I didn't like being embarrassed in public; it made me sound like an idiot and it always made me stutter. Snape's lip curled even more.

"It appears that being the class comedian isn't everything either," he said in a superior tone. I flushed and didn't look into his eyes, starting to fume. "Hm, how about a question for the both of you? Potter, Black, what is the difference between monkshood and wolfsbane?"

I didn't answer and merely glared down at the table I was sitting at. Harry answered, "I don't know. I think Hermione does, though, why don't you try her?"

I barked a small laugh, but looked up at Snape's cold expression and automatically stopped. A couple of other people laughed as well. Snape looked down at the both of us, looking very unpleased. He turned sharply towards Hermione, who was now standing up with her hand almost touching the dungeon ceiling.

"Sit down," he snapped at her. "For your information, Potter and Black, asphodel and wormwood make a powerful sleeping potion known as the Draught of the Living Death. A bezoar is a stone taken from the stomach of a goat that will save you from most poisons. Monkshood and wolfsbane are the same plant, which also goes by the name of aconite."

The lesson didn't improve much. Snape put us all into pairs, placing me with a Slytherin named Blaise Zabini, to mix a potion to cure boils. I wasn't too thrilled with being with a Slytherin.

"So, what's a Black doing hanging around a bunch of Gryffindorks?" the Slytherin Zabini mused. I turned to him only to see a very Slytherin-like smirk on his face. I narrowed my eyes defensively.

"I happen to be a 'Gryffindork' and my fellow 'Gryffindorks' are my friends. What's it to you anyway?" I retorted. He raised an amused brow.

"My family has known the Blacks for a long time. It's unusual for a Black to be a Gryffindor," he said offhandedly. I looked away.

"So I've heard," I responded quietly. He stared at me for a minute longer.

"The name's Blaise. Blaise Zabini," he introduced immodestly and stuck out his hand. I glanced from his hand to his smirking face and hesitantly took it.

"Yeah, I know who you are. And in case you just know me as 'Black' like Snape seems to, my name's Lydia," I added carefully.

"You're not too bad, for a blood-traitor Gryffindor," he commented after a moments pause. I turned sharply to him.

"Don't call me a blood-traitor," I demanded and then paused. "And you're not too bad either, you know, for a cocky, son-of-a-bitch Slytherin." He scoffed a little and smirked wider.

"Touché," he answered. Finally, I smirked a little too. Being on mostly good terms, we worked on the potion together. I have a feeling that Snape would have complimented the potion if I wasn't part of its making. In fact, the only person he seemed to like and compliment was Malfoy. Neville managed to melt Seamus' cauldron and their potion was sweeping across the floor, burning holes in people's shoes. I wanted desperately to help my friend, seeing as he was drenched in the potion and boils were popping up all over his face. I felt sorry for him as Snape yelled at him and spat at Seamus to take him to the hospital wing.

"You- Potter- why didn't you tell him not to add the quills? Thought he'd make you look good if he got it wrong, did you? That's a point from Gryffindor." My mouth dropped open. That was so unfair! Oh, great. Snape's rounding on me now. "I'm assuming you felt the same, Black? You just wanted to claim the glory of doing it right? A point from you as well!"

"No! I was working on my—"I started to say, but Snape cut me off.

"How extremely conceited can you get?"

"But I'm _not_—"

"Oh, you are so very much like your father. So proud and egotistical." I blinked a couple times.

"Is _that_ what this is about? Look, I don't even _know_ him, I—"

"Be quiet, Black!" he nearly yelled. "You have just taken away another 5 points from Gryffindor. How many points will it take for you to learn that your back-talk is not wanted?" I sat there staring up at him, my hair red and my breathing heavy. I was clenching my teeth together hard to keep tears that were threatening to form away. What did I do to deserve this?

I walked with Harry and Ron out of the dungeons after class, a lump still in my throat. Harry wasn't in a good mood either. "I've never been insulted that much in my entire life. Even with the Dursleys!" I screeched huffily.

"I know me either. Although, I hate to admit, but it seems like Snape hates you more than he hates me," Harry agreed. Ron looked between us both.

"Cheer up. Snape's always yelling at Fred and George too. He just naturally hates people who know how to have fun," he insisted optimistically. I smiled a little but my mood did not lift. "Can I come with you to meet Hagrid?"

I had forgotten all about the letter Hagrid had sent Harry at breakfast. We were going to go see him this afternoon. At five to three we left the castle and made our way across the grounds. Hagrid lived in a small wooden house on the edge of the forbidden forest.

I almost laughed at the scrabbling from inside along with booming barks when Harry knocked on Hagrid's door. Hagrid's hairy face appeared in the creaked open doorway, smiling at us.

"Hang on," he said and turned back to something. "_Back_, Fang!" He let us in, revealing a large black bloodhound that he was struggling to keep a hold on. I smiled at the creature as we filed in.

"Aw, can I pet him?" I asked Hagrid. Hagrid nodded.

"Go 'head," he said, gently releasing the dog. The dog bounded at me and covered my face in dog slobber.

"Oh, yuck!" I exclaimed and looked at the dog when he settled down slightly. "Fang, is it?" In response, the dog licked my face once again. "Nice to meet you too." Hagrid chuckled and I stood, only to sit down on a proper stool. The bloodhound put his drooping face in my lap and naturally, drooled all over my robes.

"This is Ron," Harry told Hagrid, who was now making tea.

"Another Weasley, eh?" Hagrid assumed, glancing at Ron's hair and freckles. "I spent half me life chasin' yer twin brothers away from the forest."

We pretended to like Hagrid's rock cakes as we told him about our first week. Hagrid wished me an official happy birthday and asked how mine and Harry's owls were doing. Harry told Hagrid about Snape's lesson, to which Hagrid replied to not worry about Snape, because he liked very few of his students.

"But he truly _hated me_!" I cried. "And Harry too, but especially me!"

"Rubbish!" opposed Hagrid. "Why should he?" I noticed that Hagrid wouldn't look me or Harry in the eyes when he said this.

"Well, he said something about my dad but—"I started.

"What 'bout him?" Hagrid inquired, rather quickly and sharply. I gave him a confused look, but continued on.

"I dunno. He said I was like him with me being so 'conceited, proud and egotistical'. I didn't even do anything," I explained bitterly. Hagrid still wouldn't look me in the eye. I rolled my own.

I zoomed out when Hagrid started talking to Ron about his other brothers and when Harry discovered there had been a Gringrotts break-in while the same day we were there. I wasn't that interested while the others seemed to be. I was just worried about Snape. What was I going to do about him?

Hmm…I could always pull a prank on him…

That was brilliant! I all of a sudden stood up and headed towards the door. "I'll meet up with you later, guys," I called to Harry and Ron. "Bye Hagrid!" I stepped out the door and made my way back up to the castle. I reached the common room and slowed down, telling the Fat Lady the password.

I looked around while I was inside, searching for two certain red-headed brothers. I smiled when I spotted them and walked towards them.

"Hey guys! "I greeted them. Fred and George both nodded towards me.

"Hi Lydia," they said in unison.

"I need your help," I said. This sparked their interest.

"And just might what can we help you with?" Fred asked for the both of them. I smirked.

"I'm gonna prank that jackass Snape," I answered mischievously. Their grins widened.

"We're way ahead of you," George said.

"Already are planning one out," Fred continued.

"Want in?" George finished.

"Do you need to ask?" I chuckled impishly.

~-o-~

I spent the rest of my afternoon working on homework, since I really had nothing better to do. I managed to finish Transfiguration homework but not much else. I met up with Harry and Ron a little after they had come back and we headed down to dinner. There, we ate and talked to the twins, Harry and Ron's roommates and Jason.

We all ranted about Snape, talked about our week and just relaxed. I was in a much better mood than I had been this afternoon, now that I was not being yelled at 24/7. I glanced at Snape a few times, but he seemed to be evolved in his own thing. Good.

While we were walking back to the common room, we had to listen to a nagging of Percy's. I didn't even know what he was going on about. I was glad when he disappeared into our common room and I turned to Ron. "I'm sorry, Ron, but your brother's a stick."

"Try living with him," Ron replied miserably.

My night was uneventful, and I mostly just sat around watching Harry and Ron do homework and stared into the fire. I played Exploding Snap with Fred, George and Jason once but that's it. I headed up to bed at about 10 o'clock at night after saying goodnight to Harry and Ron. I was just about to go in when Parvati almost ran into me.

"Oh, Lydia, I was just looking for you!" she cried. I had to resist the urge to roll my eyes. "I found these letters on your bed. They must have come too late for your owl to deliver them at breakfast." I took them from her and nodded in thanks before heading back down to the common room again.

I plopped down in my favorite arm chair and ripped open the first without really checking to see who it was from. I pulled a crisp, white piece of parchment out and examined the nice handwriting without reading the words. I was confused because the only people I knew that would send me a letter was Hagrid and Harry, but neither made sense at the time. They wouldn't send me a letter if they could just go and talk to me. Finally, I started to read it.

_Lydia,_

I know that it probably seems ridiculous that I would wait until your eleventh birthday to write to you. I honestly would have written to you before, but I couldn't. It's difficult to explain…so I won't explain. But you must know this, my dearest daughter, that I am alive and well and that my thoughts consist of you every day. It hurts me so much to not be able to be there while you grow up into a (dare I say it!) teenager and of course into a beautiful young adult. Oh, the glory days of teenager-ism. You have no idea how much I wish I was there with you, Lydia. The Ministry of Magic does not see me fit to be around you while you are at only eleven years of age. Once again, it is difficult to explain. We will meet someday, I can promise you that. When, is what I am not too sure of.

Sadly, I do not have any pictures I can send you of myself and our family. Hopefully this letter will give you a hint of what I am like in person. And of course you have two cousins currently attending Hogwarts with you. Although, one is most likely a douche and without a doubt a Slytherin, so we can leave that one out. In case your other cousin hasn't already revealed himself, his name is Jason Ericson. He is a fourth year Gryffindor and a little smartass like his parents. I'm pretty sure you have already met him; he already loves you dearly. If he hasn't told you about himself yet, don't be too hard on him. He's always been a little shy.

Lastly, congratulations on getting into Hogwarts and Gryffindor! I remember my time at Hogwarts…I was a Gryffindor as well. I'm sorry I'm not there with you, but I will not continue to be absent in your life for very long, I hope. I love you so much, Lydia Andromeda, never forget that.

Love, your mother,  
S.A.E-B

P.S. Your uncle and your aunts also love and miss you very much.

I don't know how many times I read that letter, but tears kept silently running down my face. My mother was alive. She acknowledged my existence. And oh my gosh, _Jason_, my fourteen year old friend, was my _cousin_! And I have _another_ cousin here too?! Who is a _Slytherin_?! How weird can this get? This couldn't have been written more than two days ago, and I rand my fingers over the neat words, taking in every bit of my mother's handwriting. So I would be able to meet her someday, I thought with new found anxiousness. Whenever the day came when I got to meet her, I'd be ready.

Wiping my tears away, I put the letter aside and took out the next one. I couldn't imagine who this could be from and I was slightly frightened to find out after the surprising last letter. This time I took the time to examine it. I flipped it over and read the back:

Miss Lydia A. Black  
Hogwarts School of Witchcraft and Wizardry

Interested, I slowly opened the envelope and pulled out a fragile looking piece of parchment. The writing on it was the same style as the back of the envelope…it looked like my _own_ writing. Confused, I finally looked down at the words and started to read.

Dearest Lydia,

I'm sorry if this arrived a bit late. You can never be too sure of the time here. Plus, the bloody owls they provide are so slow (they can fly! You think they would go faster!) Well, it's the thought that counts at least. So, Happy 11th birthday. I've heard that you've got into Hogwarts as well; a year early even! But I can't say I'm surprised. Dumbledore would have wanted you to be in your best friend's year. Although, I am quite surprised that you are now 11. Has it really been 10 years? The last time I saw you, you were screaming bloody murder, demanding food constantly and practically driving your mother up the wall. Quite the personality you had as a little baby. Hopefully those great pigs of muggles they sent you to live with didn't change it much.

Which brings me to my next subject. I can't express how truly sorry I am for anything that has happened to you over the past 10 years. I know that you have never met any of your actual family, which I think is the worst that could happen to somebody. At least when you have a family worth knowing. Mine wasn't too great. They were all pure-blood obsessed, cold, Voldemort-worshipping, I-hate-everyone types. Except for a cousin of mine, whom you are partly named for. But the point is, is that you will understand everything in time. I know that that's not much of a satisfying answer; believe me, I know what it's like to be kept in the cold, but it's the best I can give for now. I love you, Lydia. Don't you ever think differently no matter what happens.

Your father,  
Sirius Black

Oh my gosh, I _am_ like him. Like I had with my mother's letter, I traced my fingers over the scratchy written-out words. I felt tears stirring up in my eyes again, but I forced them away. He didn't sound so fearsome for a psychopathic mass-murder. If he hated his family so much, why did he follow in their footsteps?

I read through each letter several more times. I still couldn't believe that these were written by my _parents_. I mean, I had _parents_. So what if one was a murderous criminal locked up in prison somewhere; he was _alive_. And so was my mother. By now, I couldn't help the fresh tears that spilled over my chocolate eyes.

I wanted so badly to know what they looked like. Where exactly they were at this moment. What they were thinking about. I wanted just to see their faces and talk to them so greatly, that I thought I might go crazy if I didn't. I didn't know my mum's full name, so I could not write her back and well, I didn't want to send a letter to a prison, really, so that kind of ruled out talking to my dad. But one thing really got me; how did my dad know about Harry?

Well, one thing is for sure. Tomorrow, I'm going to have a little talk with my friend Jason Ericson.

**Haha, there lies the point of having Jason Ericson as a character in my story! He's in trouble now. Also, I'm not revealing who her mom is until the 3****rd**** in the series! So there, lol. When I finally post the third one though, it should be pretty obvious to who her mom is. But that doesn't mean I'm going to confirm it until it actually comes up in the story. :) Her mom is an OC, btw, so until you want to ruin the story for yourself, don't read my profile!!! And by the way, sorry this chapter is so dang short! I make you wait a month and then give you a short chapter. The nerve of me! Haha.**

**Thanks for reading!! I had an epic FAIL last chapter on trying to make an arrow trying to point down to the review button, so I'm gonna try again. **

**\/**

**(that was probably another fail, but in case it isn't; yay! And REVIEW!!)**

**CaptJess :)**


	7. High in the Sky

**This took sooooo long to get out! I'm terribly sorry! I've been caught up with both my other story and school. But I finally got to this and it's finally out! So I hope I get tons of reviews for this! This chapter isn't my best in my opinion, but at least it's an update! :)**

**To warsucksiknow: Maaaaaaaaybe. :) I know who she's gonna end up with at the end of the series, and I can tell you that it's not going to be Harry. This is because most of the 'Daughter of Sirius' stories I see out there, the Black girl ends up with Harry. And Harry/Lydia just didn't feel right to me. They kinda grew up as brother/sister and I want them to stay that way. But I'm not gonna anybody who she ends up with. If you want to know, it's on my profile page, haha. Thanks for the review :)**

**Thanks everyone for reviewing! Disclaimers the same. Onto the story:**

~o~

After playing with my hair a little bit the next morning, I stomped down the stairs and searched the room for any of my friends. There were a few people in the room, but nobody I wanted to talk to. I stopped when Seamus and Dean came down the stairs to the boys' dormitory.

"Hey, Seamus. Hey, Dean. Do you know where Harry or Ron are?" I asked them. Seamus blushed and rubbed the back of his neck nervously, but Dean just shook his head.

"I think they already went down to breakfast. They were gone before we woke up," Dean replied, shrugging. I nodded, but before heading off, I turned back to the boys.

"Jason? Ericson, I mean?" I asked curiously.

"Nope, haven't seen him around either," said Dean. I tried not to look disappointed. I really needed to talk to Jason! I nodded again.

"Thanks," I said hurriedly before walking out of the common room. We had today off since we had a week of classes already. It went by fast, actually. Well, it was certainly more interesting than muggle school, that's for sure! Some of the classes weren't too great though, such as Potions. I despised the class and especially Professor Snape. He was such a prat!

The Great Hall was surrounded with lively chatter and the sounds of silverware scraping plates. It smelled wonderful in the room, and it made me hungry for breakfast. My eyes scanned the Gryffindor table, searching for heads of black, red and blonde hair. My eyes fell upon Harry and Ron. They were joyfully devouring their breakfasts and conversing happily with each other and a few other boys around them. I smiled as I approached and plopped down next to Harry.

"Morning," I greeted and received welcomes from the both of them. "You seen Jason anywhere? I need to talk to him."

"Nope, haven't seen him," Ron replied to me. Harry swallowed his food and looked up.

"Did you see the notice in the common room?" he asked. I shook my head. He grinned. "We have flying lessons on Thursday!" My face lit up. I've wanted to fly for ages now!

"Flying lessons! Finally—"

"But it's with the Slytherins."

The grin slid from my face. "Way to ruin my good mood." He shrugged innocently and continued eating. Malfoy would be there, poking fun at all those who weren't 'perfect' at flying like he supposedly was. I doubted he was. The little idiot was probably just trying to make himself seem all up to hype. But that didn't mean I wanted to make a fool of myself in front of the Slytherins or anybody in particular. Listening in on certain conversations, the excitement about the lessons was obvious between the first years, although they couldn't make the Quidditch team. But that was no matter to me; I didn't know how to play anyway.

"First year flying lessons, huh?" a voice mused sitting on my right side.

"That should be interesting," an identical voice continued. George took a seat next to his little brother, which meant Fred had to be next to me. Fred reached over me, grabbing a piece of bacon from my plate. I slapped his hand away.

"Get your own bacon, you little twerp!" I cried, stealing a piece of his own bacon away. He smirked, taking a bite of the meat.

"So, flying lessons with the Slytherins? How fun," he commented.

"Tell me about it," Ron grumbled miserably. George ruffled up his hair, while Ron shot him a glare and tried to re-flatten it.

"It's not so bad. Just knock them off their broom if they give you trouble," George suggested nonchalantly. I nodded in agreement. Seemed like a reasonable idea to me. Harry grumbled same as Ron.

"Easy for you to say. I'd actually like to avoid detention," Harry remarked. I raised a brow at him and almost broke out in sarcastic laughter.

"Well, good luck doing that while being friends with me!" I chuckled. Harry shrugged again, a smile playing on his face. I faced the twins again, taking a bite out of a piece of toast. "Are you on the Quidditch team?" I asked them curiously.

"Yep," Fred answered proudly. "I'm a Beater."

"Chaser, at your service," George finished, jokingly putting a fist over his heart. Out of the corner of my eye, I saw two new boys approaching us, and my stomach gave a lurch as I recognized one of them. The sat in two empty seats near us.

"Which leaves me and Lee here as the announcers," Jason said, piling food onto his plate.

"We get the difficult job," the other boy, a black boy with dreadlocks, added with a smirk, winking at the rest of us. I snorted jokingly.

"So difficult," I commented sardonically. The older boy pretended to be offended.

"When you try it, let me know," he responded, acting exhausted at the thought of his oh-so-terrible 'job'. I smiled teasingly and gave thumbs up. I then turned to my, er, cousin. Geez, that was weird to think about.

"I've been looking for you all morning," I told him. "I need to talk to you." He looked up in surprised and gave a single nod, urging me to continue on with my statement. "Not here." His expression turned to one of confusion as he set down his breakfast.

"What about, Lyd?" he asked cautiously. Instead of answering, I stood from the table and headed towards the door of the Great Hall, hoping he would know to follow me. I waited outside the door for a few seconds until he came out of the noisy room. He was patient as he followed me outside onto school grounds. I stopped at my favorite place: a grassy spot between the sparkling lake and a giant tree.

"What's this about, Lydia? Is something wrong?" he asked calmly. I sighed and ran a hand through my thick hair as I tried to pick out the words I could say.

"I got…a letter last night. Well actually two letters. One of them was from…my mother," I told him slowly. He remaining calm visibly, but I saw the look in his blue eyes tense and become more nervous. "She wished me happy birthday. And she also told me that I had two cousins. One in Slytherin. The other one was you."

He stared at me silently, hoping that in some way I'd just continue speaking. Finally, he let out a breath he seemed to have been holding and nodded leisurely. "Yeah, that's true. I am." A smile grew on my face.

"Why didn't you tell me in the first place?"

He shrugged, relieved that I wasn't angry with him. "I don't know. I guess I just thought it'd be weird. You know, some random stranger coming up and saying 'Hi, I'm Jason and I'm your cousin that you never knew; let's be friends'. I worry too much I guess."

I laughed softly, a good mood being revived. There were a few questions that played on my mind, and I debated whether or not to ask them. I played with my hands, ringing them around each other and bit my lip before I finally just went for it. "Do you know my mum? Where is she? What's she like? What's her name?"

I almost thought Jason wasn't going to answer my questions as he occupied himself with fidgeting of his own. "I live with her," he eventually responded, but shot me a look as my eyes widened in excitement. "My father was her brother, but he died before I was even born. After your father…a-after what happened, your mother was abandoned. My mother and I, along with my uncle and my other aunt moved in with her to keep her company a few months after…it happened."

He paused, looking into my eyes with utter seriousness. "If they hadn't…she probably would have drunk herself to death." He reached into his pocket, furrowing his eyebrows. Out came a gold chain, a heart shaped locket on the end of it. Opening it, my eyes fell upon the pictures of a blonde haired couple; a vibrant, pretty young woman and a handsome, high spirited young man. They were laughing joyously in the picture, embracing as if they would never let go. Jason bore a shocking resemblance to the woman. A smile flickered on his face for only a second.

"These are my parents. Your mother's brother," he stated, handing the locket over. "His name was Jessiah. Jesse for short. He was the youngest brother of twins. My—our—uncle, Rikki, is his older brother. Your mother was older than the both of them, and she was in your father's and the Potter's year; not to mention the Longbottom's and dear ol' Severus'. And in case you're wondering, she looks nothing like her brothers."

I must have had the most dumbfounded look in history on my face. "She was in Harry's parents' year? And Neville's parents'? And ew, _Snape_?" He smirked for a moment and nodded. "Bloody hell, I feel _terrible_ for her! It's bad enough having him as a teacher! Anyway, what's her name? Where is she?" I added, repeated my questions from before eagerly. I wanted to know more. The connection to my family that I'd been craving since toddlerhood was finally here!

"I can't tell you," he whispered, crushing my hopes. "I promised her."

"Why wouldn't she want me to know who she was?" I asked quietly, avoiding the hurt evident in my throat from reaching my voice.

"I honestly don't know," he said sincerely. "I'm sorry."

I swallowed silently, pushing my true feelings back down, and gently handed the locket back to Jason. "Can you at least tell me something about her? Like something about her looks or personality?"

The corner of Jason's mouth rose slightly and he nodded. My spirits lifted only a little. "Your eyes are exactly like hers; but that's the only part of you that actually looks like her. She's hilarious, kind, genuine, and extremely caring. She said that she used to be quite the prankster as a teenager, but she quit I guess. She's a total hippie, still stuck in the 70's. She's muggle-born, as well as her brothers. She still goes by the last name Black. She only uses her maiden name once in a while. Come to think of it, she still wears her wedding ring, even though she's convinced herself that she hates Black for what he did." I squeezed my eyes shut and warm tears fell down my cheeks. My cousin wrapped his arms around me, holding me tightly.

"I'll always be here for you, just so you know," he told me genuinely and warmly, flashing a grin at me. I began to smile back, wiping the drops away from my eyes. I mouthed, 'I know'. He lifted me up from the wooden bench near the beautiful spot and together we headed up towards the castle.

"So…who's my other cousin?" I inquired curiously.

"You don't want to know," Jason responded immediately.

"That bad? Oh, goody."

~o~

Thursday, the day of our first flying lessons, was a beautiful, breezy day. It was 3:30 in the afternoon when I headed down with my friends to a flat grassy clearing. In the clearing were around twenty broomsticks, all rather old and frail, and to my displeasure, the Slytherins. The teacher, a woman with short gray hair and golden eyes, stood sternly as we piled in. Blaise winked at me and I smirked in return.

Madam Hooch was the older woman's name and I learned very quickly that she was not one to be messed with. Course, not that I really cared, but she was a little scary at times. She barked orders at us to get us started with the lesson. My broom looked very frail, but not terrible. It didn't calm my nerves about flying; I mean, who wouldn't be nervous when the only thing supporting you as you drifted off into the sky was a thin piece of wood.

"UP!" I commanded sharply to my broom as Madam Hooch ordered. My broom to my surprise shot straight up into my palm. "Not too bad," I added to myself. Looking around, it was evident that mostly everybody else was struggling with this task. Not Harry, though. His had done something similar to mine. _We're naturals_, I thought with sarcastic excitement.

The subsequent job we had to do was mount our brooms correctly. "Good work, Miss Black. You're mount is perfect," she complimented when she came around to check. I beamed proudly. Malfoy was the next person she verified; she informed him that he'd been doing it wrong for years. Harry, Ron and I could barely hold back our grins of delight.

"When I blow my whistle, kick off from the ground hard," Madam Hooch instructed. "Keep your brooms steady, rise a few feet, and then come straight back down by leaning forward slightly. Ready—one, two—"

She never got to three. For Neville, frightened, pushed off the ground at two. As Madam Hooch shouted at him to come back to the ground, he continued to rise. I watched shocked as he slipped from his broom about twenty feet up in the air and fell quickly to the surface. He hit the ground with a nasty crack, and the teacher rushed over to his aid. He broke his wrist.

"Can't he go a second without an injury?" I whispered to Harry and Ron.

"Apparently not," Harry responded.

"None of you is to move while I take this boy to the hospital wing!" Madam Hooch exclaimed, holding up Neville. Attempt to fly and you'll be expelled before you can say 'Quidditch'!" The minute they were out of hearing range, Malfoy burst in laughter.

"Did you see his face, the great lump?"

I snarled at him as the other Slytherins followed after him. "Shut up, Malfoy," Parvati snapped at him. I nodded in agreement, crossing my arms and glowering at the lot.

"Ooh, stick up for Longbottom?" snickered Pansy Parkinson, Draco's little girlfriend. "Never thought you'd like fat little cry babies, Parvati."

"Funny you'd say that Parkinson. Looky who you like," I sneered, indicating Malfoy. She wrinkled her nose, searching for a remark she could make on me. "Well, it's not like you could do any better. I mean, you don't really have the greatest personality and—well, your _hair_—"

"Father still locked up in Azkaban, Black?" she interrupted, a cruel smirk playing on her ugly face. "Can't imagine he's getting out for a while. Tut, tut, what a shame," she added pleasantly. I growled and lurched for her, but several Gryffindors held me back.

"Hey, it's that thing Longbottom's gran sent him!" Malfoy called, breaking Parkinson and I away from our death glare. My eyes narrowed at him as he held the Remembrall high up in the air as to gloat.

"Give it here, Malfoy," Harry ordered quietly. I got ready to back him up. Malfoy smirked, throwing the Remembrall up in the air and catching it with ease.

"Maybe I'll put it up in a tree—Longbottom won't find it there—"

"Give it here!" Harry yelled, grabbing his broomstick. Malfoy was already off the ground by them, soaring higher and higher with the glass ball.

"Come and get it, Potter!" Malfoy taunted loudly. Harry started to mount the broom, ignoring Hermione's protests. He took off, rising far above the ground. I growled angrily again as I saw Malfoy's boastful, arrogant expression—and I couldn't help myself. I stomped over to one of the oak trees, tearing off a thick and sturdy branch.

"Lydia, what are you thinking? Didn't you hear what Madam Hooch _said?"_ Hermione cried stubbornly as I mounted my own broom, getting ready to kick off. I sighed in frustration.

"Hermione, for once in your life, shove off!" I snapped, and pushed hard off the ground. I was desperate to keep both hands on my broom, but it was impossible with the branch in my right hand. But as I drifted farther from the surface, I realized I had no need to be frightened. This was fun—no, it was better than fun. It was incredible! Remarkable! I was _meant_ to be on a broom!

"Give it, Draco," I demanded harshly. Malfoy already looked nervous, and as he looked from both Harry to me, he made a decision. He threw it hard to the right, and I saw exactly where it went. I leaned forward heavily on my broom and sped towards the Remembrall, clutching the branch in my hand.

I almost thought I wasn't going to make it as it was headed directly for a tree, in which it'd shatter running into. I caught up to it at the last moment. "Harry, head's up!" I yelled, and I smacked it with such great force that I thought I'd break it. It headed in Harry's direction, but started to fall before it reached him. It was still in perfect condition from what I could tell as he dove for it, just as he snagged it and gracefully hit the ground.

I whooped for him but was cut off by an ear-shattering, "HARRY POTTER AND LYDIA BLACK!" My stomach went cold and body rigid. McGonagall ran towards the group on the ground and faced upward. "BLACK! Get down here RIGHT THIS INSTANT!"

I exhaled slowly and shut my eyes. "Shit." I'd really done it now. I was expelled.

Quickly, I raced to the ground and hit it softer than I expected, landing with only a slight stumble. I glanced at Harry, who looked terrified, and gave a shy smile towards Professor McGonagall. "Hello, Professor," I attempted innocently. The look of sharp blades she threw at me was enough to make my bite my lip and gaze guiltily down at my feet.

"In all my time at Hogwarts, I _never_—"she sputtered furiously, "how dare you—might have broken your neck—"My fellow students tried to defend us but with no positive result. McGonagall was furious, and that was it. My best friend and I were expelled. And you have no idea how much I wanted to punch Malfoy right in his stupid obnoxious face. "Black, Potter, follow me now."

Feel sick to my stomach, I glanced miserably at the faces of my friends—Ron, Seamus, Dean, Blaise…that was pretty much it—and saluted goodbye to them all. This was odds-on the last time I'd see them. Hopefully I'd get to write them. I didn't look up to see where we were headed to because I didn't care. I just watched where McGonagall was stepping, my stomach twisting. I didn't even notice the tear stains wetting my cheeks and how my hair no longer obtain my signature bright red highlights.

Only once did McGonagall glance back. "Why are you crying, Miss Black?" she asked, the harsh tone in her voice much lighter. I looked up in surprise, wiping my eye with the sleeves of my robes. I shook my head.

"I'm not crying," I denied. McGonagall merely raised her eyebrows. "This is it, isn't it? We're expelled." McGonagall, despite her long pause, decided not to answer. I knew it.

McGonagall stopped outside the Charms classroom for some reason unbeknownst to neither Harry nor I. Poking her head in the room, she said, "Excuse me, Professor Flitwick, may I borrow Wood for a moment?" I glanced towards Harry in confusion. He shrugged.

Out stepped Wood, a fifth year boy with some muscle on him. Glad to know that Harry and I weren't the only ones not in on this little plan, as he looked just as bewildered as both of us. He examined us interestedly. McGonagall led the three of us into an empty classroom, slamming the door behind her.

"Potter, Black, this is Oliver Wood. Wood—these two are your new Beater and Seeker," she announced, allowing a small smile to cross her stern face. I blinked a few times at McGonagall, not knowing what the hell either of those two names were, while Wood's face changed to one of glee. "They're naturals. Potter, Black, was that your first time on a broom?" I hesitantly nodded, and Harry followed.

She turned back to Wood. "Black here, raced for the thing. Hit it away from a tree at the last minute. She must have knocked it well over 100 yards. And Potter, caught that thing in his hand after a fifty-foot dive. Didn't even scratch himself. Charlie Weasley couldn't have done it."

"Wait, wait, wait—I thought we were getting expelled, not complimented," I commented. I was so terribly confused. What did our Remembrall hitting and catching skills have to do with anything. Wood smiled, obviously too delighted to care about my sarcastic comments.

"Oh, not today," he beamed. "Either of you two ever seen a game of Quidditch? I'm captain of the Gryffindor Quidditch team." He walked around, examining the both of us. "Both are light and speedy, perfect for both positions. The Beater here, Black, you got to be pretty strong to hit something that far. Here, punch my hand."

I raised an eyebrow, an amused smirk playing on my face. "You're sure you want me to do that?" He nodded seriously. I sighed, brought back my hand balled into a fist and hit his open palm. He clutched it painfully, and shook it out, hoping to get feeling back into it. I held back a chuckle.

"Perfect. Great Beater strength," he praised, his voice strained. He turned to McGonagall. "They'll need decent brooms. Nimbus Two Thousand or a Cleansweep Seven."

"I shall speak to Professor Dumbledore and see if we can't bend the first year rule." She looked at us both sternly. "Black, Potter, I want to hear you're both training hard or I might change my mind about punishing you." Hesitantly, I smiled back at her as she suddenly smiled.

"Your father would have been proud, Potter. He was an excellent Quidditch player," she recalled. "Black, both of your parents were two of the best beaters Hogwarts, let alone Gryffindor, has ever had. It was only a matter of time you became one. They'd be proud as well."

I watched her taken back as she exited the room along with Wood on that note. I turned my attention to Harry. "What just _happened_?"

"No idea. I think we just made a sports team. The Quidditch team," he answered casually.

"Huh…" I trailed. "Well, it's better than being expelled."

"Just imagine the look on Malfoy's face."

"…You just made my day, Potter."

~o~

**And that's it. So Jason is learned more about and Lydia gets on the Quidditch team! And yes, I know in the series that Fred and George are the Beaters. But I really wanted Lydia to be a Beater because I couldn't imagine her a Chaser, so I just switched it around a little. And I also know that Blaise Zabini isn't really portrayed as a good guy in the series, but I always thought he was cool and I wanted Lydia to have a Slytherin friend :)**

**Thanks for reading, now please review! And the arrow thing failed again…**

**CaptJess :) **


	8. Out After Dark

**Once again, this has taken a long time to get out and I'm sorry! But fortunately, I'm on summer break and so I have tons of time to write now! I'm gonna try to get out as much stuff as I can during this summer. I think I'm going to try to write several chapters at a time so I have the next one written before hand.**

**But thanks to all my faithful readers and reviewers and all those that like my writing! I try my best! :) However…I only got one review last chapter! It's discouraging! Soooo…please leave me a review if you do read it. It keeps me motivated and loving my story and knowing that people actually do read it :)**

**Disclaimer: I don't own HP.**

**~o~**

Uncharacteristically, I passed on dinner that evening. Instead, I spent the night reading about the basic rules of Quidditch, considering I was now on the team. Seeing as I was a better visual learner above everything else, it didn't do much good. How was I supposed to be this hotshot Beater living up to my parents when I didn't even understand the dang game?

I closed the heavy book with a snap and ran a hand through my dark hair. It was tinted red with my frustration. I heard the common room door open and two pairs of footsteps. I didn't have to look up to know who plopped down on either side of me.

"We finally thought of an idea worthy enough for Snape's case," George said to my left.

"It's the best we've thought of yet!" Fred added enthusiastically. "First, we'll make a distraction from outside the dungeons. A big commotion—"

"Like a stink bomb—"

"Indoor firecrackers—"

"Possibly vomit."

"Then while Snape goes rushing outside, you come in—"

"You sneak _this_ into his cauldron," George held up what looked like a tablet of some sort. "This will make the potion explode in his face. But wait! That's not the best part."

"That would be the part where the steam from the explosion triggers _these—"_Fred displayed a handful of colored darts.

"And what do those do exactly?" I asked him cautiously. Fred and George shared identical evil grins.

"These, my dear Lydia, are set to squirt paint in the direction they are pointed when triggered—"

"And their direction is going to be directed at unsuspecting and most likely beyond ticked off Severus," George finished. My face lit up completely.

"That's brilliant! How did you two come up with it?" I exclaimed.

"Took us a while, but as you said—we're brilliant," Fred boasted proudly.

With a smirk, I rolled my eyes. "Oh and congrats by the way. Wood told us about you and Harry. Two youngest Quidditch players in a century!" George added in. I smiled proudly at him and turned to Fred.

"Looks like we're Beater partners, Fred," I told him with a laugh. He merely raised his eyebrows at me.

"I'm George, he's Fred," he responded. I shook my head almost immediately.

"No it's true, I'm Fred, he's George," 'Fred' added.

"No you're not," I replied instantly grinning.

"Oh yeah, how do you know?" the actual Fred questioned, amused.

"I just—do. You're Fred—"I gestured to the twin on my right. "And you're George." I nodded my head to the twin on my left.

There was a long pause between the two of them before they both sighed. "How do you do that?" Fred started, shocked.

"Yeah, even our family can't tell us apart that easily," George inserted, similar to his brother's tone. One corner of my mouth rose slyly and I merely shrugged. I did have a way of knowing; it was rather stupid and obvious actually. I dunno; maybe I'd tell them if I dated one of them or one of them died or something. But for now, I'd let them try to work it out.

~o~

"What's this whole business about a wizard's duel?"

Harry sighed nervously. It was about 11 at night and Harry and Ron had just begun to tell me what occurred during dinnertime. "Malfoy challenged Harry to a wizard's duel—it's basically just wizards sending curses at each other and stuff—nothing that serious," Ron explained to me.

Looking between my two best friends, I tried to comprehend. "So you two are sneaking out to go battle Malfoy in the middle of the night? Because he's too much a baby to deal with a little spit at his bravery?"

Glancing at one another, Harry and Ron nodded together, guiltily. "Hm, I wanna go too," I offered, not leaving them much choice for debate. About half an hour later, we started to head out for the trophy room where this charade was supposed to take place.

A voice stopped us. A voice that I always seem to dread hearing now. "I can't believe you're going to do this Harry." One of the lamps in the room flickered on lighting up the face of a certain annoying Hermione Granger. Ron frowned and commanded her to return to bed, but she ignored him. "I almost told your brother. Percy's a prefect."

My frustration with her brewed up inside of me. I didn't say a thing because I knew it would do nothing to sidetrack her. I was astounded of how nosy, how—infuriating she was. I've never been this irritated with anyone in my life; that's saying something—I lived with the Dursleys!

Harry pulled Ron and me along, not bothering to answer her. By the look on his face, I could tell he was feeling something similar to what I was. She caught up to us once we had stepped through the hole in the wall. I had to give her one bit of credit; she was determined. Annoyingly determined.

"Do you only care about yourselves? Do you _want_ to lose all the points I earned us? It seems _you_ don't care about Gryffindor, but_ I_ certainly don't want Slytherin to win the House Cup!" she ranted, fueling the vicious aggravation bubbling up in my stomach. The three of us glared at her. She straightened, crossing her arms superiorly. "I just hope you remember what I said when you're on the train home tomorrow."

Hermione turned on her heel to reenter the common room. It was then when she realized that the Fat Lady had gone out on a little stroll, leaving the meddling girl stuck with us. She shook her head frantically in denial. "Now what am I going to do?" she shrieked.

"Maybe you should have thought of that before," I stated flatly, my eyes flashing dangerously. So dangerous in fact, that she had to take a step back.

"Now if you'll excuse us, we've got to go; we're going to be late," Ron said, attempting to imitate my tone. Of course, he was much less intimidating than I.

She had caught up to us within a matter of seconds. This girl just didn't _stop_. "I'm coming with you." She ignored my leer. "Do you honestly think I'm going to stand out here and wait for Filch to catch me? If finds the four of us, I'll tell him the truth and you can back me up."

I finally snapped. "Or how about this? How about I knock you out so hard that you can't even remember why you were with us in the first place?"

"She'll probably still find some way to tattle on us," Ron grumbled furiously.

"Shut up, all of you!" Harry suddenly snapped. "I heard something." The four of us stopped to listen; the sound that filled the halls was a soft breathing. For a second we were scared it was Mrs. Norris. But as we crept closer to the Gryffindor entrance, we noticed a sleeping figure curled up on the floor. Neville awakened as we approached.

"Thank goodness you found me! I couldn't remember the password!" he exclaimed rather loudly than we preferred.

"Keep your voice down, Neville. The Fat Lady's gone, so the password won't matter anyway," Ron told him sharply. Harry asked him how his arm was. It was no problem for Madame Pomfrey.

"Guys, we're running out of time! We better go if we want to make it," I informed them hurriedly.

"Wait, don't leave me! The Bloody Baron has already passed here twice! I don't want to be alone!" Neville exclaimed, frightened. I growled inwardly, but whirled around.

"Great, Hermione, _you_ can stay here with Neville!" I suggested.

"I'm coming with!" Hermione retorted.

I exhaled slowly, trying not to completely lose my temper with the both of them. "Ok, this is going to sound mean, but we do not want either of you to come with us. You're only going to hold us back. Sorry you got locked out of the room, but that's not our problem. Okay?"

Hermione and Neville could only stare at me. I felt a twinge of guilt, and started to regret my words. But they needed to hear it. Harry, Ron and I all felt that way. Finally, Hermione's eyes narrowed. "You're a very cruel girl, Lydia Black."

"I'm not cruel," I stated hollowly, meeting her light brown eyes. "I'm honest."

"Well, I'm sorry for your luck, but we're still coming with," Hermione said coldly as we glared at each other. There was a pause from the tension between us two girls, which was eventually broken by Ron.

"Either of you better not get us caught—I'll learn that Curse of the Bogies Quirrell taught us about and use it on you!" Ron warned furiously. We finally took off with Hermione and Neville in tow to our displeasure. We made our way quietly up to the third floor where the trophy room was located.

The trophy room was fascinating. The numerous trophies, cups, plates, shields and statues glistened in the dim light of the moon, making them glow beautifully. Good thing Malfoy wasn't in here to ruin the splendor. Where was he anyway?

The time ticked by as we waited for Malfoy. He probably chickened out, the wimp. Then, a voice came from the next room that caused all of us to jump. "Sniff around, my sweet, they may be lurking in the corner," Filch muttered to his cat. We froze with fear. Silently, Harry beckoned us to follow him. We obliged, whipping around a corner swiftly.

Filch's steps got louder and louder even though we crept in the direction away from his voice. He sounded close. At the sound of his footsteps, Neville started to run away but tripped, dragging both him and Ron down right into a suit of armor. The noise was so thunderous I'm surprised the whole school didn't wake.

I let out a frustrated groan as Harry yelled, "RUN!" The five of us sprinted at top speed, having no idea where exactly we were going. Though somehow, we halted near the Charms classroom—far enough away that Filch wouldn't know where we are.

"Great—brilliant. Anyone else want to make this worse? Maybe get some pots from the kitchen and clang them together? Sing the school song at the top of our lungs? You know anything to draw attention to ourselves?" I ranted angrily. Neville stared guiltily at his feet.

"S-sorry," he mumbled uncomfortably and miserably. I felt another twinge of guilt. Why couldn't I just keep my mouth shut at times?

"No, I'm sorry," I replied calmly. "I have temper issues," I added, with a slight bit of a smile I could manage. I aimed it towards Hermione as well, but she wasn't listening to me. Instead, she turned her attention to Harry.

"You do know he tricked you, right?" Hermione said in a huff. "Malfoy was never going to meet you—he tipped Filch off that someone was going to be in the trophy room that night." I wanted to retort something to her, but I realized she was probably right—as always.

"Let's go," Harry said.

None of us could get a break. Peeves the Poltergeist shot out of classroom in front of us and looked us over. As we attempted to quiet him, he started t cackle loudly. "Ickle Firsties wandering around at midnight. Tut, tut, tut. Naughty, naughty, you'll get caught," he chuckled in delight.

"Peeves, shut up. We're hoping not to get caught," I snapped. His grin widened menacingly when he saw me. Twirling in a circle, he started to chant, "Blacky, Blacky, just like her daddy." There was a second when I thought I had calmed down—not anymore. His taunting flared my temper way back up.

"Peeves, get out of the way," Ron demanded, taking a swipe at him, which of course was a complete mistake on his part.

"STUDENTS OUT OF BED! DOWN THE CHARMS CORRIDOR!" the Poltergeist belted. We jumped and scurried as far away from him as we possibly could, only to slam into a locked door. We grew frantic as we heard Filch's footsteps echoing towards us.

"We're done for!" Ron moaned nervously. Hermione harshly shoved him out of the way. She pointed her wand at the bolted lock and muttered, "_Alohamora_." To my surprise, the door's lock clicked and swung open. We all dashed into the room to safety.

Doing what seemed like my first nice act of the day, I turned my attention to Hermione. "Nice work," I complimented her. She muttered thanks under her breath, obviously shocked by my praise. We then pressed our ears on the door, listening to Filch's and Peeves' conversation. He got under Filch's skin about as my as he got under mine. However, he did not mention to him where we had gone thankfully.

"Filch thinks this door is locked," Harry broke in. "I think we're safe. _What_, Neville?" When I turned to look at them, I saw Harry and Neville staring wide-eyed at something in back of us. Whirling around, I froze in terror. Well—we discovered why the third floor was forbidden.

The five of us stared into the giant eyes of a dog—and not just any dog. No, this dog's height and width expanded from ceiling to floor, wall to wall. Its three different heads growled at us, its eyes flashing madly and treacherously. This may be the one dog I will never grow to like.

"Uh…nice doggy?" I stuttered, trying to sound calm and sweet. The dog's three mouths snarled directly at me. I gulped. "Um, right. Well, we'll just…let you be. We—we're gonna leave now. Ok, bye. Harry?" Harry's hand scrambled for the door knob and as fast as we could, we sprinted out of the room and down the corridor straight to the Gryffindor common room entrance.

"Where in the world have you been?" the Fat Lady questioned, stunned by our sweaty, red faces. Ignoring her question, Harry recited the password and we hurried into the room, plopping down in the armchairs. The common room was like salvation to us compared to what we had just been through. The only sound for a while was the five of us panting, regaining our breath and our minds.

"What the bloody hell are they thinking, keeping that…_thing_ in the school?" Ron finally blurted. I replayed the dog's appearance in my head and shuddered. Never in my life did I want to see that dog again. "If any dog needs exercise, that one does." Looking over at Ron, I smiled a bit, almost finding it in me to chuckle.

"I love dogs," I started, grasping onto my diamond eyed dog necklace, "but unless I want to get out of class by breaking something—or dying—I'm never going near that thing ever again."

"None of you use your eyes, do you?" Hermione broke in, regaining her anger and obnoxiousness. My eyes practically rolled back into my head at her recovered voice. "Didn't you see what it was standing on?"

"The floor?" Harry offered and I scoffed, amused. "I wasn't looking at its feet; I was too busy with its heads."

"_No_, it was standing on a trapdoor. It was guarding something." She suddenly stood, glaring at us. "I hope you're pleased with yourselves—"

"Oh don't worry your little head off, I, for one, am _delighted_," I interrupted sarcastically.

"—We could have all been killed," she continued as if I hadn't said a thing. "Or worse—expelled. Now, if you don't mind, I'm going to bed." The remaining four of us stared after her, eyebrows raised, as we watched her stomp back up to the room I unfortunately shared with her.

"No, we don't mind. Honestly, you'd think we dragged her along with us, wouldn't you?" Ron ranted. I shook my head in agreement with him.

"Well, I'm certainly not going back in the same room as her. I dunno about you guys, but I'm staying down here," I said, lying down on the couch in front of the fire that no one occupied.

"Don't blame you, mate," Ron agreed.

"But she was right," Harry said suddenly. "She may be insane, but she did see something we didn't—the dog is clearly there for a purpose. It is guarding something." Ron and I looked on curiously at him.

"What d'you think it is?" I asked.

"Dunno." A silence between us followed.

"…What _was_ that thing?" Neville spoke up. Rolling my eyes, I plopped my head into a soft pillow.

~o~

**This is I think my shortest chapter and I wasn't that good. But I just wanted to get something out. I hope you enjoyed it anyway! Please review! I really like reviews :)**

**CaptJess :)**


	9. Friends Forever

**Hey everyone! Hopefully the waiting time wasn't too bad on this. With the whole premiere of the last Harry Potter and everything, I managed to get a lot more inspired to write and the next one shouldn't take that long. Maybe like early August? But I'm really really excited about this chapter and I really enjoyed writing it!**

**Did everyone LOVE the last movie? I did! I waited in line 12 hours to see it! I thought it was incredible and SUCH a great ending! So exciting! Although the one thing I didn't like is that they could have put A LOT more in it. I don't think anyone would have minded if it was just a little longer ;) What did you think of it? Leave me a review!**

**Disclaimer: I only own my characters! :(**

We had settled quite a few things in the next few days. One: Malfoy _had_ been trying to get us in detention or better yet expelled. Two: the gigantic dog was definitely guarding whatever Hagrid had pulled from the vault. Three: Hermione was furious with us and refused to speak to us—not that Harry, Ron nor I were complaining. It was just a bonus!

It was a week later that Hedwig and Crescent along with 10 other school owls had swooped in during mail time, carrying two tall and skinny packages; one for Harry, and one for me. Mine had landed right in my pumpkin juice, spilling it all over the table.

"Oh, Crescent," I moaned, wiping up the mess with a used napkin. When my efforts didn't pay off, I switched my attention to the large parcel lying in front of me. "What d'you think these could be?" Harry shrugged and tore through his letter first. I had one myself, but I decided it couldn't differ that much from Harry's.

I watched his eyes widen in excitement and I took the letter in curiosity.

"Do not open this parcel at the table. It contains—_your new Nimbus Two Thousand_, but I don't want everybody…blah blah blah…first training session, seven o'clock..." I read excitedly under my breath. I looked back up and Ron and Harry, where Harry was grinning ear to ear and Ron's jaw was plopped open jealously. "McGonagall sent us new brooms!"

"Not just any broom," Ron started quietly but enviously, "that's a Nimbus Two Thousand! Only the fastest broom in the world! I've never even _touched_ one."

The three of us quickly darted for the common room. We wanted to rip the wrapping off as soon as possible. Only Malfoy stood in our way. "Move it, Malfoy," I ordered, but he had already snatched the package straight out of Harry's hands. "Give it back!"

"Broomsticks!" Malfoy exclaimed, tossing the parcel back to Harry. His expression was unpleasant, but fortunately desirous. "First years aren't allowed to have broomsticks. You and Potter will be in trouble this time now, won't you Black?"

I merely raised my eyebrows at him and crossed my arms superiorly. I couldn't wait to see the look on his face when he first discovered Harry and I were on the team. Ron couldn't help but blurting out, "They aren't just _broomsticks_, they're Nimbus Two Thousands. What you got at home, a Comet Two Sixty. Nice but not in the same league," Rom smirked at Harry and I.

"What would you know, Weasley, you couldn't afford half the handle!" Malfoy snapped. "You and your brothers must save twig by twig."

"Hey, Malfoy, I'd leave them alone if I were you," an American voice said. Jason stood closely behind Malfoy, making him seem much smaller and more vulnerable compared to the significantly taller 4th year boy.

"Yeah? What'd you going to do about it, Ericson?" Malfoy sneered, trying to look menacing, but failing considering he didn't even come up to Jason's shoulders. Jason smirked.

"I happen to be very popular among the teachers. I could easily report you."

"Not before I report them." Malfoy had noticed Flitwick before any of us. Malfoy immediately took his chance.

"Potter and Black have been sent broomsticks, Professor!"

Much to Malfoy's horror and my delight, Flitwick beamed in joy and squeaked, "Oh yes! Professor McGonagall's told me all about the special circumstances! Now what model did she send the two of you?" Harry, Ron, Jason and I all fought back hysterical laughter at the pure look of shock and terror on Malfoy's face. Harry sputtered out the answer to Flitwick's question.

"And we wouldn't have gotten them if it wasn't for dear Malfoy over here," I jumped in with a mocking smirk thrown at the confused Slytherin. The three of us and Jason tagging along headed off towards the dormitory, bawling with laughter.

"Well, it is true, Lydia," Harry agreed, once we had plopped on the couch. He turned to Ron. "If he hadn't stolen Neville's Remembrall, we wouldn't be on the team!" I had just settled the unopened packaged on my lap and was getting ready to tear the paper off and see the shining beautiful broom for myself.

"McGonagall really sent you those brooms?" Jason asked in awe. Harry and I nodded gleefully at him. "But—why?"

"You'll see," I responded, winking at him.

"So I suppose you think that's an award for breaking the rules?" Hermione fumed, stomping into the common room. I was in too good of a mood to get angry at her so I only scoffed. She fixed her glare on me.

"I thought you weren't speaking to us?" Harry said disappointed.

"Yeah don't stop now, its doing us loads!" Ron replied.

"Oh, I know. My headaches are gone!" I added in.

Hermione stuck her nose in the air like a princess and stomped up the girls' dormitory. Unfortunately, we had no time to unwrap the brooms…we still had lessons that day. And the day sure went on forever! By dinner time, Harry, Ron and I were so anxious to see the brooms that we sped right through dinner and bolted up to the common room where our broomsticks were lying under Harry's bed.

Finally, at last, we opened the packages. Out rolled two of the prettiest brooms I had ever seen. I never knew until I found out about the Wizarding world that broomsticks _could_ be beautiful, even less that we were able to ride on them. Everything about it was sleek and shiny and new. Ron practically drooled over them.

When seven o'clock came, Harry and I were more than ready to finally learn Quidditch. We were amazed when we entered the stadium. "Harry, it's huge! And…high!" I gasped.

"Yeah, they definitely thought out the seats, didn't they?" he replied.

"I'll say," I chuckled.

It wasn't long before Wood showed up. He was carrying a large wooden crate under his arm. It seemed to be wiggling quite a bit. What in the world could be in it?

"Evening, Potter, Black," he said, smiling to each of us. I grinned in return. "Now, Quidditch is easy enough to understand, but not too easy to play. After I teach the two of you the basic rules, you need to attend practice three times a week." He opened the crate carefully. Peeking inside, I saw that there were four different balls. I was most drawn to the two that were squirming that almost seemed to be struggling to be free.

"There are seven players on each side. Three are Chasers," Oliver started to explain and picked out the big red ball that had two dents in the sides. "The Chasers throw the Quaffle—which is this ball—to each other and try to toss it through one of the three hoops. Ten points each time it goes through. Got it so far?" Harry and I nodded.

"So it's sort of like basketball only on broomsticks?" Harry compared. Oliver looked confused however.

"What's basketball?" he asked. Harry and I shared an amused glance and dismissed it. "Anyway the player who tries to block the Quaffle is called the Keeper. I'm Gryffndor's Keeper." We nodded along with his explanation.

"What are those for then?" Harry asked, pointing to the other three balls in the case.

"Here I'll show you," Oliver replied handing me a small club. I eyed it curiously. "Now, Lydia this is what you, one of the two Beaters, do. Stand back." He bent down to the struggling balls and released one of them. It flew high into the air before it bolted straight towards me. I got ready and swung at it as hard as I could. The impact made a dull thunk and we watched as it soared through the air, right through one of the middle hoop. It soon after came for Oliver who dived on it and pinned it to the ground.

"Nice hit, Black! These are called Bludgers!" he yelled and gasped trying to contain the struggling ball. He forced it back into the crate and secured it safely. "They try to knock the players off their brooms. The Beaters, you Lydia and Fred Weasley, protect their team from the Bludgers and try to knock them towards the other team.

"The last member of the team is the Seeker—that's you Harry." Oliver succeeded to pull the smallest ball, a fluttery gold ball with light wings. "This is the Golden Snitch. It's the most important of the lot. It's a Seeker's job to catch it, which is difficult because it's small and fast. Your job, Harry, is to catch it before the other team's Seeker does. Whoever catches it earns their team an extra 150 points, so they nearly always win. Once the Snitch is caught, the game ends which can take forever—I think the record is three months. Well, any questions?"

"Nope," I replied cheerfully and Harry shook his head. The next half an hour was spent practicing. It seemed fairly easy. Harry caught every single golf ball thrown at him while I didn't miss hitting any of them. By the time we were done, Wood was ecstatic.

~o~

Halloween morning smelled delicious. Literally. I think they must have been cooking pumpkin pie and loads of other Halloween treats. And even better, in Charms we were practicing Levitation. We had all been dying to try it! I partnered with Dean Thomas while Harry was with Seamus Finnigan and—wait for it—Ron and Hermione Granger. They both looked equally mad at this.

"Swish and flick, remember, swish and flick!" Flitwick piped up, observing us from over his desk (in which he had a book stack to stand on just to see over it).

"Yeah, I'm swishing and flicking to my heart's galore, and still nothing's happening," I muttered jokingly to Dean. Dean sniggered. He was making much progress on his either. We both jumped at an explosion next to us, only to find Seamus's face black with ashes.

"No, you're saying it all wrong!" I heard Hermione snap. She was at it again. "It's Wing-_gar_-dium Levi-_o_-sa…not Levio-_sa_."

"You do it then, if you're so clever," Ron retorted. I looked over just in time to watch Hermione's feather float gently into the air. I exhaled. I was really hoping she'd mess up. But of course not, because she does everything perfectly, I thought jealously as she received high amounts of praise from Professor Flitwick.

"It's no wonder no one likes her," Ron ranted angrily. For reasons unknown, I wasn't agreeing with him. I felt almost guilty as I listened to his fuming. "She's a nightmare, honestly!" Not much longer, someone ran into me and rushed ahead. It was Hermione. She was crying. I felt another stab of guilt. "Well, she must have noticed she's got no friends."

"Ronald! She was crying!" I cried. Ron tugged at his sleeve uncomfortably.

"Well—at least she noticed," he muttered. I stared after her retreating form and made a split second decision. A decision I would have never thought I would make.

"Hey, I'll meet up with you guys later. I'm going to check on her," I told my friends. Ron looked at me like I was insane, but I shot him a contradicting look and hurried after her.

The one problem was I had no idea where she had gone. I pushed through students heading to the feast, looking for any possibilities. I stopped in front of the first girls' bathroom I saw. She had to have gone in here! Creaking the door open, I glanced inside. I heard the sound of sobbing and a flash of bushy brown hair. Yep, she was in here.

"Hermione? Are you ok?" I questioned cautiously. She jumped and looked up, surprised. When she registered who had come to visit, her eyes narrowed unhappily.

"Go away," she snapped between her sobs. "I don't want to see you or either of your little friends." But I only stepped closer to her.

"Ron didn't mean it. He was just being—Ron."

"Of course he meant it!" she exclaimed and broke off whimpering. "Because it's true."

"No, it's not," I said quietly, looking down at my hands. "I-I like you."

Hermione's new look was one of utter disbelief. "You sure have an odd way of showing it!" I sighed and took at seat next to her. This was harder than I thought.

"Ok, maybe I didn't like you before. But Ron went too far with that comment." I paused to wipe away one of her tears, which surprisingly she let me do. I smiled. "It's nice to know you're somewhat human." At that, Hermione cracked a bit of a smile. "If you want to know the truth…I'm a bit jealous of you."

Hermione's jaw dropped. "Jealous? Of me?" she cried out. "How? You're beautiful, you're funny, loads of people like you!" I shook my head.

"Actually, not a lot of people do." I paused again shortly. "You may find this hard to believe, but many think I'm mean and obnoxious." Hermione finally laughed. Probably from just how true that statement was. "But you, however, are better at magic than I'll probably ever be. I realized that today. And you're muggle born! I'm from a pureblood family and I stink at magic!"

"You're pureblood?" Hermione asked curiously.

"…I don't know. I know my dad is," I explained. "But I don't know who my mother is…I've never met either."

Hermione looked guiltily down at her feet, never having known this before. "Oh…" was her only response. I contemplated my next words before I actually uttered them. "Hermione, have you ever heard of Sirius Black?" Hermione perked up instantly, eager to share her knowledge.

"He was that man who blew up a street full of muggles and his own friend. He's been in Azkaban for 10…"she slowed her words down, catching onto what I was trying to tell her. "…years…of course…you're his daughter—I never made that connection…I don't know why."

I gave her a sad smile. "You have a lot of things to be proud of. Your brains, your determination, your parents. I don't have those things," I complimented and gently pushed a lock of her hair aside. "And you're pretty too…you just have to flaunt it a bit more." Hermione giggled slightly. I grinned at her. I regretted being so mean to her all those times before. She really was a sweet girl if you just sat and talked with her. "Come on, let's go to dinner." I stood up and held out my hand. She hugged me shyly and we beamed at each other.

Everything would have been perfect…if we weren't trapped in the bathroom with a giant monster blocking our way. We were both silent for a moment, just staring up at the ugly disgusting thing.

Finally I uttered, "Um, Hermione, you're the genius…what is _that_?"

"That, Lydia," she started, her eyes as wide as dinner plates and her voice trembling, "that would be a troll."

"Oh!" my voice sounded unnaturally high pitched and cheerful. Inside, I was terrified. I hadn't known what trolls were or that they even existed. But this, this was terrible. It was 12 feet of weird and gross. IT actually looked a bit dim witted, but its giant club didn't. With a frightened glance at one another, Hermione and I screamed at the top of our lungs and darted for a hiding spot.

Squeezing onto each other's hands, Hermione and I squished into the corner, trying to appear as small as possible. The troll started towards us, smashing through sink after sink, nearing closer to where we were with each one.

A rock suddenly hit the wall, making a huge thunk. The troll halted a few feet away from the two of us, searching around the room for the source. I, for one, did the same. I didn't grin when I saw Harry and Ron across the room. What were they doing? Now _they_ were going to get killed too!

As it took a step towards Harry, Ron shouted, "Oy, pea-brain!" and threw a metal pipe right at its shoulder. It didn't even notice. But this gave me just enough time to spot a path towards the exit. I tugged on Hermione's hand, but she stood still in terror and shock. Harry came over to try and help. It was no use.

"Why did you guys come? Now you're both in danger too!" I cried at Harry.

"We couldn't just leave you two in here alone! We heard about the troll in the Great Hall and we knew you and Hermione didn't!" he explained loudly. Before I could reply, the troll roared and charged at Ron. In return, Harry did something unexpectedly brave. He jumped on the troll's back.

I couldn't see anything that was happening except for the troll trying to shake Harry off. I hadn't seen where Ron had gone and Hermione had sunk to the floor and was now watching the scene with a disgusted expression. I soon discovered why.

I only noticed Harry's wand up the troll's nose when the troll had been knocked out by its own club. Thanks to Ron and the Wingardium Leviosa charm, the troll was out cold. Maybe even dead.

"It's not dead, it's just knocked out," Harry responded to Hermione, taking his wand out of the troll's nose with a look of revulsion. The four of us stared at it in shock. Had we, four first years, just taken on a troll and survived?

We jumped when the doors burst open. In came Professors McGonagall, Snape and Quirrell. Quirrell nearly passed out when he saw the troll sprawled in the middle of the bathroom floor. Snape bent to inspect the troll and McGonagall glared at us, angrier than I had ever seen her before. I thought it was underserved; we hadn't asked to be attacked by the beast!

"What on earth were you thinking?" McGonagall yelled furiously. "You could have been killed! Why in the world aren't you in your dormitory?"

"H-Hermione wasn't feeling too well and I went to check on her before—"I started to explain, but Hermione cut me off.

"No, I was feeling fine. They were looking for me only because I went looking for the troll," Hermione lied. McGonagall's anger turned to shock. I didn't blame her; I was completely surprised. Hermione was lying to a teacher? I didn't believe it possible.

"I thought I could deal with it on my own—because, you know, I've read all about them," she continued. "If Lydia, Harry and Ron hadn't found me, I'd probably be dead. Harry stuck his wand up its nose and Ron knocked it out with its club. Lydia was just trying to protect me. They didn't have time to go fetch help; it was about to finish me off when they arrived." Hermione met my eyes and we smiled at each other, subtly.

"Miss Granger, you foolish girl, how could you think of tackling a fully grown mountain troll by yourself?" McGonagall scolded. She bought the story! Hermione stared at her feet, not in shame but I guessed she was trying to look convincing. Harry and Ron were absolutely speechless.

"Five points will be taken from Gryffindor, Miss Granger. I'm very disappointed in you. If you are not hurt, head off to the Gryffindor tower. Students are finishing their feasts in their houses," McGonagall said. Hermione left immediately. Now it was our turn.

"Well, I'm impressed," she started. I looked up in surprise. "I still say you were lucky, but not many first years could take on an adult mountain troll. You each win Gryffindor five points and Professor Dumbledore will be informed of this. You may go."

Without another word, the three of us left. Halfway there, Ron finally spoke. "We should have gotten more than fifteen points." That was really the only thing he had to say right now? We should have gotten more points?

"Ten, since she's taken off Hermione's," Harry reminded him. There was a pause.

"Good of her to get us out of trouble like that," Ron reluctantly said. "Mind you, we did save her." I rolled my eyes.

"Her and Lydia might have not needed saving if we hadn't locked the thing in with them," Harry said. I raised my eyebrows at this.

"We might have not needed saving if Ron wasn't so mean to her in the first place," I reminded.

"Yeah, I guess that's fair," Ron said guiltily. At least he admitted it. I smirked at him. "How—how is she? You know, after you talked to her and stuff."

"She forgives you." Ron seemed to look a little relieved.

The common room was packed when we entered. It also smelled fantastic, considering everyone was enjoying the Halloween feast. It wasn't until then that I realized how hungry I really was. Hermione was waiting for us at the door. Between Harry, Ron and Hermione there was an embarrassed pause in which they awkwardly thanked each other.

Smiling, I took Hermione's arm. "Come on, you can join us," I offered. Shyly, she smiled and Harry and Ron did the same. She nodded. The four of us went to grab plates and dig into the holiday feast together. From then on, Hermione became the fourth member of our group, and so far as it seemed, my only girl friend.

**I really like how this one came out! Didja liiikke? :) Please please please leave me a review! I only got ONE last chapter!**

**CaptJess :)**


	10. Quidditch and Quirks

**Sophomore year had officially started so I'm not sure of how avidly I'm going to be updating, but I'm gonna try my best! Not to sound repetitive or pushy, but I get a lot of story alerts so if you story alert my story could you please leave a review? I really want to know people's thoughts on it and what they like/don't like about it. It'd be really helpful :)**

**Disclaimer: I own Lydia and Jason only!**

"Do you really think this is a good idea?"

"It'll be fine, Hermione. And hilarious for that matter."

Hermione and I entered the Potions classroom, Harry and Ron following closely behind us. "It's just—you could get in serious trouble! Snape isn't exactly the most laughable person."

I sniggered. "Well _that's_ for sure. But really, don't worry about it. I don't mind getting in a bit of trouble."

Hermione sighed sharply. "Okay, but don't say I didn't warn you." We shuffled off to our designated seats. Hermione had become a lot less strict about the school rules since she started hanging out Harry, Ron and I. This was a relief, because the calmer less stern Hermione was much easier to be friends with.

"Settle down," Snape said, his voice echoing around the room. It wasn't even necessary because the class was dead silent anyway. "If you would please open your books to page 20 and get out a cauldron." The class obeyed. Out of the corner of my eye, I saw the second half of the twins and I's prank fastened on the walls and I smirked.

As class began, Snape showed an already brewed example of what the potion we'd be creating should look like. The cauldron containing the potion was placed perfectly in front of him. About half an hour into class, a loud noise came from outside in the hallways of the dungeons. It sounded like a huge bang of some sort.

Snape went to investigate and I took my chance. Silently I slipped out of my seat and rushed up to the front. I heard a few of my classmates already starting to giggle as they saw me drop the tablet into Snape's potion. I just barely dodged being seen by Snape as I jumped back into my seat.

Snape reached the front again, glaring at all of us from behind his desk. I was trying not to laugh or look suspicious at all. Normal class continued on, until about 30 seconds later. There was a loud BOOM! I looked up in time to see Snape's face both soaking wet and covered with a thin layer of ash. I bit my lip to keep from laughing, but I couldn't hold it in any longer as paint of many different colors covered his head.

Every Gryffindor was in guffaws, some even rolling on the floor. Most of the Slytherins, however, were not amused. In fact, the only one laughing was Blaise. Snape was fuming. Before he even got a chance to say a word, Pansy Parkinson's hand shot up. "It was Black, sir. Black slipped something into your potion when you were gone!"

I snapped my head around to glare at her. She and several other Slytherins sneered in delight. They would just love to watch me get in trouble. "Twenty points from Gryffindor, Black," Snape snapped. He stood in the same place; he was still dripping with potion and paint. "AND you have detention all of next week, starting Monday the 10th."

I merely smirked. My punishment could be a lot worse. The detentions didn't interfere with our first Quidditch match on Sunday; and honestly, I couldn't take him seriously covered in a rainbow.

~o~

"It was genius—brilliant! I couldn't take him seriously even as he stood there, giving me a full week's worth of detention," I later said to Fred, George and Jason.

"We wish we had seen it," George said jealously.

"But at least we got some thrill of our own," Fred added, him and George smirked at each other.

"How?" I asked.

"The thing they set off in the dungeon hallways—"Jason started to say.

"Dungbomb," the twins finished.

"Which Filch and Mrs. Norris happened to be in the way of," said Jason, smiling. I laughed.

"He was so busy with his hacking he didn't even see us sneak out," Fred mused.

Later on that evening, Harry had attempted to retrieve his book from Professor Snape (he had unfairly snatched it from him along with taking away five points). When he came back, he was out of breath. Snape had injured his leg a few days before and Harry had seen the full view of it, blood and all. There was definitely something up with Snape.

~o~

Normally, breakfast would have looked and smelled delicious to me—except for today. My nerves made me feel sick and the best I could do was nibble on a bit of toast. Harry was having the same problem as I, but we had a good reason. Today was the first Quidditch match of the season—mine and Harry's first game overall.

"Come on, Harry. Lydia's eating!" Hermione tried to persuade. My face scrunched up.

"Barely. I think I might vomit," I said shakily, dropping my piece of toast. Only the corner was missing from it.

"Charlie, Fred and George all said they thought they would on their first games," Ron told us. "Charlie was the Seeker a few years back. Fred and George said their first game turned out fine…but Charlie came out with a broken nose and both of his arms broken."

"Yeah, Seekers are always the ones that get clobbered by the other team," Seamus added.

"Thanks, Seamus," Harry replied bitterly.

Only an hour later, nearly everyone in the school was packed in the stands, eagerly waiting for the first Quidditch match to start. Out of the corner of my eye I noticed something flashy up where Ron, Hermione, Neville, Seamus and Dean sat. Beaming, I nudged Harry in the arm and pointed to where I was looking.

Side by side, my friends held two sheets. One read "Potter for President" and a flashing Gryffindor lion underneath. The other said "Black attack!" and was painted red and gold with me hitting a Bludger on it. Harry and I laughed joyfully together and we suddenly felt more confident. We were the first 1st years in a century to join the Quidditch team—we could do this!

In the locker rooms after the team has changed into our scarlet robes, Wood began his speech. "Okay, men."

"And women," said Angelina Johnson, one of the three Chasers.

Wood nodded. "And women. This is it."

"The big one," said Fred.

"The one we've all been waiting for," added George.

"We know Oliver's speech by heart…we were on the team last year," Fred told Harry and I. I grinned at him.

"Shut up," Wood interrupted. "This is the best team Gryffindor's had in years; I know we're going to win!" He then glared at us. He meant business. Outside, Madam Hooch was waiting on the two teams, broom in hand.

"I want a nice fair game, all of you," she warned, particularly eyeing the Slytherin Captain, a sixth year named Marcus Flint. Glancing at the "Black attack!" poster, I exhaled, letting my nerves out. I felt a flash of pure excitement now and was itching to get up in the air. "Mount your brooms, please."

I climbed onto my new broom and gripped my bat tighter. Then, Hooch blew hard on her small silver whistle and all fourteen students (and Madam Hooch) kicked off and rose high in the air. The match had begun.

"Gryffindor Chaser Angelina Johnson takes the Quaffle—excellent Chaser she is, and very attractive too—"

"JORDAN!"

"Sorry, Professor."

"As we were saying, Johnson passes to Katie Bell—"

"Bell back to Johnson—"

"To Slytherins! The Quaffle has been snatched by Captain Marcus Flint…I think he gonna try to score!"

"Flint going for the goal aaaanddd—"

"MISSES!" Lee Jordan and Jason shouted together. Silently, they high fived.

I watched the Bludger closely and sped towards one that was flying towards Katie Bell. She ducked underneath it just as I wacked it hard across the field. Its direction was now aimed for the head of Adrian Pucey.

"Thanks!" Katie yelled, quickly glancing behind her before speeding after the Quaffle.

"Nice hit!" Fred praised. "Not bad for a beginner!"

"It's harder than it looks!" I admitted.

"Yeah, well, you get a bit bruised up—maybe a broken limb here and there—but it's better than the rest of the team working on getting us points!" he responded. I nodded in agreement. There wasn't much time for conversation. The game was moving along rapidly. Gryffindor had already scored!

Not long after, Gryffindors had called a foul. I had seen it too! That wanker Flint (who keep in mind is a _Chaser_) hit a Bludger towards Harry just as he'd seen the snitch. It almost knocked Harry right out of the air! Of course he only got a yelling at and Gryffindor got a free shot. I think Flint deserved worse.

"After that obvious and disgusting bit of cheating—"

"Jordan!" Professor McGonagall growled.

"Sorry, after that open and revolting foul—"

"_Jordan, I am warning you_!"

"_After that penalty_, Gryffindor earns a free shot and is now in possession of the Quaffle."

"Thank you, Ericson," McGonagall said stiffly. Although Jason didn't sound happy, his commentary was more acceptable than Lee's.

In the next time frame, I at first didn't notice anything out of the ordinary. The game was still in play moving as fast as ever, Lee and Jason were still commentating, and the crowd roared. It wasn't until I noticed people in the stands staring high in the air and pointing that I realized something was wrong. Looking above my head, I saw Harry. I had no clue what was happening to him, but it appeared as if his broom was out of control—I had the same broomstick!

"What's happening to his broom?" I yelled loud enough so Fred could hear me. We had both halted from our Beater duties to watch Harry jerking around on his broom.

"Dunno, but if it doesn't stop, we're gonna have some smushed Seeker later!" he cried back. My eyes widen at him in fear. That couldn't actually happen could it? I mean, someone ought to catch him, wouldn't they?

"I have the same type of broom!" I yelled. "What if it's a defect in the brand or—something?" Fred shook his head immediately.

"Nimbus Two Thousands—nah. Never," he replied. "_That_—that looks like a curse of some type."

"Who would curse him?"

"My guess would be one of those slimy Slytherins. Bloody gits will do anything to win."

After a scan of the crowd, I found no one that could possibly be cursing Harry. Of course, I wasn't the best judge. I didn't know what a curse was supposed to look like! I hadn't seen exactly what had happened, but whoever was cursing Harry stopped. Harry was able to climb back onto his broom, only to charge for the ground and land on all fours.

I couldn't take the suspense anymore. I landed shortly after him; and just in time to see him spit out a little gold ball. The Snitch! He caught the Snitch! "I got the Snitch!" he shouted, waving it around. We met eyes, beamed and embraced tightly. It didn't matter whether he caught it or nearly swallowed it, we still won! We won our first Quidditch match!

~o~

"Hermione and I both saw him. It was Snape!" Ron explained later in Hagrid's hut. "He was the one cursing your broom. He was muttering and he didn't take his eyes off you!"

Harry and I were quick to believe it, but Hagrid wouldn't hear anything of it. "Rubbish. Why would Snape do somethin' like that?"

Harry, Ron, Hermione and I met eyes. Truth is, we didn't know _why_ he would want to do it, but the point is that he _did_! Harry spoke for all of us. "He tried to get past the three headed dog on Halloween; we think to steal whatever it's guarding. But it bit him, so he couldn't get far."

Hagrid completely stopped in his tracks and stared at us astonished. "How do you know about Fluffy?" My eyebrows shot up at the name.

"_Fluffy?_"

"Way to pick a name that really suits him," I said sarcastically.

"Yeah well—he's mine. I lend him to Dumbledore to guard the—"

"The what?" my friends and I questioned together eagerly.

"No," Hagrid refused fiercely. "No more. That's top secret."

"But Snape's trying to steal it," Harry reminded him.

"_Rubbish!_" Hagrid said again. "Snape's one of the few protectin' it!"

"So why did he just try to kill Harry?" Hermione exclaimed. "I know a jinx when I see one, Hagrid; I've read all about them. To perform one, you're supposed to keep eye contact, and Snape _wasn't_ blinking!"

"I'm tellin' yeh, yer wrong!" Hagrid argued ardently. "Harry's broom must've had somethin' wrong with it—Snape wouldn' try an' kill a student! Now, all four of yeh: yer meddling in things that don' concern yeh! Whatever yeh know, it's all between Dumbledore and Nicolas Flamel and them only!"

"So," Harry started mischievously, "someone called Nicolas Flamel is involved?" I held back a giggle.

Hagrid couldn't win when he was dealing with us.

~o~

"How are you not that cold? It's _freezing_!" I complained to Jason, walking side by side with him to the castle. Mid-December had hit and the holidays were nearing. Fred and George were enjoying the snow—they had spent most of yesterday following Quirrell around and aiming snowballs to bounce off the back of his turban. I was bundled in nearly everything warm I possessed: a shirt, a sweater, an even warmer sweater and a jacket over that. Jason, however, marched out in sub-zero temperatures wearing a green knit sweater and gray jeans. How was he not freezing?

"I live in Chicago—_lived_. It was much colder there in the winter time than here in Scotland," he replied smirking. I shuddered once again, goosebumps running up and down my whole body.

"It's definitely chillier here than in England," I threw in. "Why don't you live in the States anymore exactly? Too cold?" I added the last sentence with a sarcastic grin. He chuckled a bit.

"Nah, my mom and Aunt Amanda missed it here," he answered. We had made our way through the doors of the castle and headed towards our classes. I had Potions next and he Transfiguration. "My mom—we call her the leprechaun. She's a short little Irish lady. But as much as she loves Ireland, she prefers England. We moved here before the school year began."

"What are the States like?"

"Well, I've only seen a little of it, but from what I've observed over the past 14 years: crazy. Chicago's a nice place though. Crowded, cold, and wet, yes, but still pretty." I nodded along. We soon had to say goodbye to head to our separate classes. I wish I didn't have to return to my despised class, but I didn't have much of a choice.

"I do feel sorry for those have to stay at Hogwarts for Christmas because they're not wanted at home," Malfoy started immediately, making it a point to look towards mine and Harry's directions. His minons, Crabbe and Goyle, sniggered.

"Really? I feel worse for your family," I interrupted their childish giggling. "They get _you_ for Christmas!" Harry, Ron, Neville, Dean and Seamus all laughed. Even Blaise began snickering. Malfoy turned and glared at his fellow Slytherin.

"What are _you_ laughing about, Zabini?" he sneered coldly. Blaise ignored him gladly and Malfoy returned to attempting to make snide comments about Harry and me. Only the Slytherins found it funny.

Harry and I obviously had no problem whatsoever staying at Hogwarts for the holidays. Another Christmas with the Dursleys? Yuck, I don't think so! Ron and his brothers were also remaining at Hogwarts for the holidays since their parents were visiting his brother Charlie in Romania this winter.

On the way out from Potions, we helped Hagrid as he was setting up a tree for decoration in the Great Hall. The Hall was covered with mistletoes and holly and Christmas trees. It oozed Christmas spirit! "How many days until yer holidays?" Hagrid asked.

"Only one," Hermione said before a light bulb went off in her head. "Oh! Harry, Lydia, Ron—we need to be in the library!"

"Oh yeah," Ron and I sighed. I hated the library as fascinating as it was.

"Studying before the holidays? Bit keen, are yeh?" Hagrid said.

"Oh, we're not working!" Harry contradicted brightly. "We're trying to find out who Nicolas Flamel is."

"You _what_?" Hagrid cried, shocked. "No, I've told yeh, drop it. It doesn' matter what that dog's guardin!'"

"We just want to know who he is, that's all!" Hermione reassured.

"Unless you want to tell us and save us the trouble—it'd be appreciated, we've must've looked through hundreds of books already," Harry offered. Hagrid didn't say a word.

And so, we were off to the library once again. We had been searching for two weeks and we had no luck by any means. Also, I didn't think Madam Pince the librarian was fond of me much. I had no idea why. She'd just sit there glaring at me while I was rummaging through the books, minding my own business. It was creepy!

For the billionth time, we discovered nothing. "You have to keep looking while I'm away, okay?" Hermione said. "And send me an owl if you find anything."

"Something tells me you're not going to be getting any owls like that," I said glumly, discouraged by our misfortune.

"Plus, you could ask your parents if they've heard of Flamel. It'd probably be safe to ask them," Ron suggested.

"Very safe, as they're both dentists," Hermione said.

**Please, please, please review! I'd really, really, really appreciate it! What did you like/dislike about it? Please tell me! Thanks for reading!**

**CaptJess :)**


	11. Christmas

**This time I finished two chapters at once (it was originally gonna be one chapter but it was just too long)! So chapter 11 and 12 are gonna be side by side updates! Yay! I hope you guys enjoy this chapter; it was really fun writing it! :D**

**Disclaimer: I don't own Harry Potter, but I wish I did :(**

Chapter 11  
Christmas

When the holidays came and almost everyone in the castle up and left, I was left with the girls' dormitory for myself. It was nice not been forced to listen to the girly gossip followed by giggles that usually came from Lavender Brown and Parvati Patil's mouths. However, without Hermione, it was a bit lonely. On Christmas Eve, I found myself shuffling into the boys' dormitory.

Harry and Ron were the only two sharing their dormitory, resulting in three empty beds. Basically, I invaded their space and claimed one of the beds as my own for the remainder of the holidays. The boys' dormitory was essentially the same as the girls'; except the girls' dorm was considerably cleaner and less stinky.

On Christmas morning, I woke to a small pile of presents at the foot of "my" bed. There was no mistaking it; they were address to me! My first pile of presents! "I've got presents!" I cried in excitement to Ron and Harry. The boys were just awaking with anticipation gleaming in their eyes. Harry was just as thrilled as I at the sight of his own pile. We had never gotten presents at the Dursleys!

"So do I!" Harry exclaimed. We shared enthusiastic grins and hopped identically off our beds onto the floor. Ron leaped off his bed not a moment later, an amused expression on his face.

"What'd you expect, turnips?"

I stuck my tongue out at him lightheartedly and dug into my pile of gifts. Like Harry, my first present was a parcel wrapped in thick brown paper and was from Hagrid. I ripped it open eagerly and saw a flash of red and gold. It was a warm, neatly knitted beanie striped with the Gryffindor colors. It was hard to believe that he could have weaved it himself, but I couldn't think of anyone else who could have done it!

I glanced over at my friends' presents to see what they had gotten so far. Ron had received a few little trinkets I had never laid eyes on before; they must be wizarding gadgets. Harry had acquired a choppy wood flute from Hagrid that sounded like an owl when blown and a stupid little fifty pence piece from the Dursleys.

Ron was fascinated by the coin, never having seen Muggle money before. "You can keep it," Harry said laughing. "Did my aunt and uncle send you anything, Lyd?" he added to me. I scoffed in hilarity, smiling jokingly.

"No," I responded. "See, you're family; they have to get you something. I, however, am not, so in a technical sense they couldn't care less about me. Which is perfectly fine with me—I don't fancy a pair of Vernon's old socks." Harry chuckled.

"I couldn't agree more!" he said.

"Oh no. I think I know what those are," Ron broke in; pointing to two similarly wrapped lumpy parcels which both my best friend and I had. "I kinda told my mum that you guys weren't expecting presents—she made you two Weasley sweaters."

"A Weasley sweater?" I voiced curiously, now opening the package Ron pointed out.

"Yeah, every year my mum makes all of us sweaters," he said, holding up his new dark red sweater, and sighing. "Mine's _always_ maroon." I giggled and proceeded unwrapping the sweater. My sweater was thick, and turquoise with a large white L on the front. I could tell it was incredibly warm to wear and it went beautifully with my hair and skin tone. Mrs. Weasley also included a batch of homemade fudge that was absolutely delicious!

"That's really nice of her," Harry commented.

"She is so sweet!" I gushed joyfully, beaming.

"Sweet, that's a word to describe her," Ron stated sarcastically.

"Oh Ron, she is!" I exclaimed. "She's very sweet!"

"Maybe when she's not yelling at all of us," Ron said. "'Wash the dishes!', 'De-gnome the garden!', 'Fred, George and Ron Weasley, don't you _dare_ touch that turkey or you'll be sweeping the whole house for months!'" he mocked in a high pitch voice. I laughed loudly at this, and pulled the comfy sweater over my head. It was wonderfully warm.

I got a large box of chocolates from Hermione—chocolate wands to be exact. My next two presents contained notes. I grabbed the one on the top and read it carefully. I did not recognize the handwriting, or the signature at the bottom. It read:

_I know you don't know me, but I felt it was finally time for you to hear from me, especially with you getting into Hogwarts and all that! And hopefully with this present, I can rub off on you. Enjoy!_

_~ Aunt Zoey _

Aunt Zoey? Who could that be? Interested, I unopened the thin parcel and out came a medium sized poster. Like most pictures in the magical world, the images moved. The poster was of a Quidditch team dressed in light green and yellow robes called the Kenmare Kestrels. Though on the Gryffindor Quidditch team, I clearly didn't know much about the sport in general. I had no idea what the other Quidditch teams were outside of Hogwarts!

"Kenmare Kestrels?" Ron questioned, unimpressed. "I suppose they're alright. Came in 6th out of 13 last year."

"Who are they?" I asked.

"Ireland's main Quidditch team. They're popular, though they usually win and lose games equally."

"Who sent that to you?" Harry inquired.

"Aunt Zoey," I read. Harry looked confused.

"You have an Aunt Zoey?"

"Apparently."

Even though I didn't know her, it was still very kind of her to send it. I put it off to the side gently and read through the other note. This one was from Jason:

_Don't listen to anything my mom says! This Quidditch team is better! Merry Christmas, Lydia!_

_~Jason_

His gift was also Quidditch themed. It was a medium pin that flashed the colors blue, gold and white. It first read "Fitchburg Finches" but soon faded into the words "7 time champions!" "Okay, Quidditch expert, another question. Who are the Fitchburg Finches?"

"That's an American team!" he explained. "There are two, the Finches and the Sweetwater All-Stars. Most tend to prefer the All-Stars, but the Finches are pretty good too. Most heavily populated places have at least one Quidditch team, but the more popular ones get about 2-4, in just Regional Teams. England's got about 8 Regional teams. Then of course, certain places have got an International Team. Those teams go to the Quidditch World Cup! Personally, my favorite team is the Chudley Cannons—as you can see," he said with a half smirk, referring to the many Chudley Cannon posters decorating the walls around his four-poster.

Suddenly, Ron dropped the box of Bertie Bott's he was eating, his jaw dropping in amazement. Quickly, I turned around to see Harry. He was just picking up from the floor a silvery gray material that had a certain water like texture. "If that's what I think it is—they're really rare!"

"What is it?" Harry and I chorused.

"I almost positive that's an invisibility cloak! Try it on, Harry!" Ron urged fervently. I watched, astounded, as Harry wrapped the cloak around his shoulders…and his body disappeared right before our very eyes! This time my jaw dropped. "It is! Look down!"

Eagerly, Harry raced to the closest mirror to examine the cloak's abilities. It was amazing—one of the most fascinating tricks I had seen yet! Near Harry's feet (at least I assumed it was near them) lay an envelope that had possibly fluttered from the bundle when Harry tried the cloak on. "Harry, there's a note!" I cried, handing the envelope to him. "Who's it from?"

He stared at the writing for a minute; finally, he looked up and shrugged. "It only says that it was my dad's and to 'use it well'. There's no signature." I furrowed my eyebrows, puzzled. Who could have possibly sent such an unusual gift to Harry then?

"Whoever it was, they sure know how to pick a gift!" Ron stated admirably. "I'd do _anything_ for one of these!" Apparently, Ron didn't feel the same concern Harry and I did. I knew by the expression on Harry's face that he was thinking the same thing that I was. Where could this cloak have possibly come from?

Suddenly, Fred and George barged in and Harry quickly hid the cloak out of sight. The twins also had Weasley sweaters on; dark blue ones with two big yellow letters on the front—an F and a G. "Merry Christmas!"

"Hey, look! Lydia and Harry have got Weasley sweaters!"

"Theirs are better than our though. She clearly makes more of an effort if you're not family."

"Why aren't you wearing yours, Ron?" George asked, frowning. "Get it on, they're lovely and warm!"

Ron made a face. "I hate maroon," he grumbled, but nonetheless pulled the sweater over his head. George observed the sweater carefully.

"She didn't put a letter on yours," he pointed out. "I guess she thinks you don't forget your name. But we're not stupid—we know were called Gred and Forge." I burst out laughing and the twins grinned at me.

"Uh oh, somebody's not wearing their Weasley sweater!" Fred called the second Percy stuck his head through the door, and seized the sweater he carried. "P for Prefect! Come on, Percy, we're all wearing ours! Even Lydia and Harry have got them on!"

"No, I don't want—"Percy mumbled through the material of the thick sweater as the twins forced it over his head. I giggled as his glasses were knocked crooked on his face. When he glared at me, I could only chuckled more.

"And you're not sitting with the Prefects today either," George added matter-of-factly. "Christmas is a time for family." And with that, Fred and George dragged their older brother out of the room, pinning his arms down to ensure he didn't escape. Assuming it was safe, Ron pulled the sweater off, giving it a dirty look.

"Put it back on!" Fred demanded, poking his head back in to check on his little brother. Ron groaned and tugged it on again miserably. Fred gave him a satisfied smile and left for the last time. Harry and I could only chortle at the display. I was truly starting to adore the entertaining Weasley family and couldn't be more overjoyed to be accepted by them.

~o~

I really wished more people could have been present to enjoy the marvelous feast that Hogwarts served that Christmas night. It was possibly—no, without a doubt—the best dinner I've ever indulged on in my life! Harry, the Weasleys and I amused ourselves with the party favors—wizard crackers that blew like a cannon and created a think mist of blue smoke, all the while popping out several live mice. The teachers, too, were merrier than ever. Even my favorite, McGonagall, was giggling and blushing as she sipped on her wine.

Fred, George and I were the first to flee the table to go and stalk Filch and Mrs. Norris. "We're going to teach you a handy little spell, Lydia," Fred told me, eyeing Mrs. Norris mischievously. "This is our favorite to use on that thing."

"All you have to do is say 'Alarte Ascendare', exactly as I just said it there," George explained, withdrawing his wand. "You want to jerk your wand up when you say it. Here, this is how it's done. _Alarte Ascendare!_" The dreadful cat screeched as it flew up high in the air. It landed on its feet with a plop and hissed. Fred, George and I muffled our laughter behind our hands.

In absolutely perfect timing, Filch trudged in angrily. "Who's here, you little fiends? Show yourselves!" Silently, Fred gestured at me to try the spell. I started to point my wand at the wicked cat, but on a second thought switched the direction.

"_Alarte Ascendare!_" I repeated.

"Ahhhhh!" Filch screamed as he soared high into the air and came down hard and fast right on his back. I smirked coolly.

"I love you," the twins said in awe.

"When I get my hands on you, you little devils—oh, you just wait!" Filch screamed furiously. "Don't care what Dumbledore says; I'll have you hanging in the dungeons by your ankles!" Filch span around looking for the source of our uncontrollable snickering. Finally, he sprinted towards our direction.

"RUN!" I yelled through my giggles and the twins and I bolted towards the Gryffindor common room, not daring to look back in the case that Filch caught a glimpse of our faces. We didn't stop until we were pushing through the common room entrance to stumble on the surprised expressions of Harry, Ron and Percy.

"And just where have you three been?" Percy insisted stiffly.

"Never you mind," George replied.

"Just polish your Prefect badge, Perce," Fred said. "I don't think it's shiny enough," he added sarcastically. His older brother merely glared and did in fact continue feverishly shining his precious badge.

Later in the afternoon, us six headed down to the snowy grounds where we had an intense snowball fight: Harry, Fred and I against Ron, George and Percy. It was so odd to see Percy for the first time laughing and actually having fun. Maybe I misjudged him. When we were finished, we were cold, wet and worn out; we spent the next few hours huddled by the blazing, toasty Gryffindor fire.

After a night of chatting with a few of my best friends (and Percy), observing the game of wizards chess as Ron destroyed Harry at it, munching on food like sandwiches and Christmas cake and finally rolling on the ground with laughter as Percy chased Fred and George all over Gryffindor tower because they nicked his badge.

Exhaustion finally swept over all of us, we fled to our respective rooms; but not after I got a kiss on the cheek each from Fred and George. Ron fell asleep almost immediately, but I lay awake; I couldn't stop smiling, for this was one of the happiest days I've ever had. After I few minutes, I pondered whether Harry had gone to sleep or not.

"Harry?" I whispered. "Are you still awake?"

"Yeah," I heard him whisper back.

I grinned. "It seems like this has been our first real Christmas. Compared to today, I don't think our Christmases with the Dursleys even count as a true Christmas."

"Just think: a year ago we were cooking the Christmas dinner for the Dursleys. Then we'd have to sit and watch while they devoured it and as Dudley ripped open his 43 presents. It's weird to think that lucky back then for us was getting a few scraps of the turkey and maybe a dollar each from them," Harry considered thoughtfully. I giggled in agreement. Suddenly, the fatigue was too strong to overcome and my eyes started to droop.

"Goodnight. Love you, Harry," I said sleepily.

"Love you too, Lydia. Night," he replied.

Almost instantly, I fell unconscious.

~o~

**Please, please, please review! I appreciate all of the story alerts and favorites I get, but it would be REALLY nice if I got more than one review, with words other than "update". Not that I don't value the review, but it's kinda a pet peeve. Please tell me what you like or dislike about it! :)**

**CaptJess :)**


	12. That Stupid Mirror

**2****nd**** update! I think this chapter shows a more of a complex side to Lydia; more than just her normal laid back, sarcastic attitude and it was interesting to write! :)**

**Enjoy!**

Chapter 12  
That Stupid Mirror

In the morning, Harry decided to fill Ron and me in on his late night adventures he had experienced when he had ventured off after Ron and I fell asleep. He told us he had gone to the Restricted section in the library covered with his new invisibility cloak to search for Nicolas Flamel, but he had panicked when he made enough noise to attract Filch and Snape. When he was escaping, he stumbled upon a mirror. Not just an ordinary mirror either—no, this mirror showed him his long dead parents.

"You should have woken me up!" Ron complained. I didn't say anything, but merely furrowed my eyebrows. Something wasn't right.

"You can come tonight, both of you; I'm going back," Harry urged.

"I'd like to see your parents."

"And I'd like to see all the Weasleys. You can show me your older brothers!"

"Just come to my house this summer, you'll be able to see them! Plus, maybe it only shows dead people. I wish you'd found Flamel though in the Restricted section. Good opportunity to with that cloak and all."

Finally, my friends saw me frowning. "What's wrong?" Harry asked.

"So, you just stumbled upon this mirror—and it showed you your parents?" I asked slowly. Harry nodded cheerfully.

"Yeah! Amazing, isn't it?"

I paused. "I dunno, Harry. Something doesn't seem right about it. Not that it isn't good and all—that you saw your parents. But I dunno…"

"You will come tonight though, right?" he asked hopefully.

I nodded. "Of course. I want to see it for myself." The boys smiled, and I halfheartedly returned it. Whatever this mirror was, it just didn't seem right.

~o~

Of course, I should have expected that Harry had no idea how to return to the thing. The three of us spent nearly an hour huddled closely together under the invisibility cloak, trekking down dark passageways that we knew only by the light of day. But no matter what, Harry refused to go back. He was incredibly determined to find this thing.

Finally, Harry muttered excitedly, "Here it is!" We dropped the cloak from our shoulders and Harry raced up to a tall, extravagant mirror framed decoratively with gold. I stepped closer to Harry, who was staring into the mirror with glee. I only saw him, Ron and me reflected within. "See!"

"I can't see anything. Can you, Lydia?"

I shook my head. "Nothing."

"No…they're right there! There's loads!" Harry insisted eagerly. Ron and I shared an apprehensive glance. Once again, I shook my head at him. He blinked for a second, but refused to believe me or Ron. "Well, here, come where I'm standing." Ron stepped up and Harry and I moved aside.

"_Woah!_" Ron exclaimed.

"Can you see your family?" Harry asked readily.

"No—I'm alone, but—I'm older! I-I'm _Head Boy_! I have a badge like Bill used to! And I'm holding the Quidditch and house cups and—I'm Quidditch captain! I look _good,_" Ron enthused, grinning at the last sentence. He turned excitedly to a confused Harry and me. "Do you think this mirror shows the future?

"How can it? My family's dead," Harry said glumly.

"Give me a go," I said.

"Wait! Give me a bit more time!" Ron demanded. I raised a brow.

"What? So you can drool over yourself more?" I questioned scornfully. "Come on, I haven't got to see yet!"

"I want another look too!" Harry interrupted.

"What?" Ron and I cried simultaneously. "You had it all last night," Ron added.

"I know but—"

A noise came from outside. Abruptly, my head whipped around. I was dead silent and stared at the entrance to the room similarly to how a dog watches its prey. "Get the cloak," I whispered, still gazing intently at the door. Ron obeyed and quickly threw the cloak over the three of us. We didn't even breathe as Mrs. Norris passed, watching every inch of the room for movement. I was so greatly tempted to use that new spell Fred and George taught me on her, but I resisted.

At last, the creature fled, probably to fetch her owner. Harry, Ron and I took this chance to bolt. And yet, even with evident expulsion facing us if we were caught, Harry was quite reluctant to leave.

Not only was he reluctant, but the next day he was so intrigued with that damn mirror; it consumed all of his thoughts. When he even mentioned returning to it, Ron and I refused—Ron more cautiously than I. He didn't listen as we pestered him not to go. My head started to prickle and my hair faded red with my irritation.

"Harry James Potter, don't you dare go tonight!" I ordered, my sisterly protection instincts taking over. He looked surprised.

"I—well—"he stuttered. I raised my eyebrows, intimidating him.

"Promise me!"

Unwillingly, he nodded, frowning.

That night, I lay awake, unable to fall asleep. I didn't stop Harry as he left for that mirror, like he promised he would. I shook my head angrily. What was so special about that stupid mirror? I get it, he saw his parents in it—but it was just a reflection. It would never, as much as he hoped, be the real thing! I wished he would face that fact.

What would have I seen in that mirror? Would I have seen my family like Harry—or would I have seen my future like Ron? Maybe if I looked in it, I would have seen myself as Quidditch captain. I would love to be Quidditch captain! Or maybe I could have laid my eyes on my parents' faces for the first time. I could imagine it—a young version of my dad. He looked exactly like me, only, you know, male. And then I pictured what my mother would look like—a very beautiful woman with chocolate brown eyes like mine.

_I've heard that you've got into Hogwarts as well; a year early even!_

For some reason, those words from my father's letter to me back in September popped into my mind. I hadn't wondered about it much until now. A year early…why did I get in a year early? Was it like Black said—that Dumbledore wanted me to be with Harry? Or maybe I was so close to August 31st that Dumbledore didn't bother with placing me a year later. With all of these thoughts racing through my mind, it wasn't until very late at night that I slept.

~o~

Whatever had happened to Harry that third night, he never returned again to the mirror. However, I was still mad at him for breaking his promise to me. "Lydia, I'm sorry! It won't happen again!" he begged. I only crossed my arms pointedly. When he realized it wasn't working, he sighed. "And it's not like I could anyway. It's being moved." I became considerably more cheery after hearing this little bit of information.

"Fine!" I gave up. "But seriously, don't do it again." He smiled apologetically.

I returned to the girls' dormitory once the Christmas break was over since Hermione and the other boys were now back. I was glad to hear that Hermione was just as resentful of that mirror as I was—and yet, it kind of made me question if I was, to my horror, turning into a goody-goody like her! Time to start hanging around Fred and George again!

Speaking of the Weasley twins, I was currently watching as they dive-bombed each other during Quidditch practice and pretended to fall off their brooms. Irritated, Wood let it slip that _Snape_ would be refereeing the next Quidditch match against Hufflepuff. At his words, George really did fall off his broom. Great, Snape refereeing a game that would eventually lead us to a game against Slytherin—this would be just perfect…

Ron and Hermione were baffled and terrified when we told them about it. "Don't play," said Hermione.

"Say your ill," added Ron.

"Pretend to break your leg."

"_Really_ break your leg!"

Neville chose this time to fall into the common room, his legs stuck together like glue. It was clearly the Leg-locker Curse. Everyone in the common room except Hermione toppled over with laughter. I bit my lip to stop from laughing. Hermione raced over to help and performed the countercurse.

"Malfoy," he explained to us. "He was outside the library and he said he was looking for someone to practice on." Hermione shook her head in disbelief.

"That's horrible! Go to McGonagall! Report him!" she urged, but Neville shook his head immediately.

"I don't want any more trouble," he mumbled barely incoherent.

"_Or_ just do what I do, hit him with pure sarcasm," I grinned. "Or punch him in the face. Course I haven't done that yet. It's on my to do list…near the top." Neville smiled this time, but once again shook his head.

"You've got to stand up to him, Neville!" Ron said. "He walks all over people constantly, and those people just let him do it!"

Neville looked as if he would cry. "No need to tell me I'm not brave enough to be a Gryffindor, Malfoy's already done that."

"Hey! Don't talk like that!" I broke in. "You_ are_ a Gryffindor, aren't you? Clearly there was a reason the Sorting Hat placed you here!" He flushed red as I smiled kindly at him.

Handing him a Chocolate Frog, Harry added, "You're worth twelve of Malfoy. You're a Gryffindor. And where's Malfoy? In stinking Slytherin." Between the both of us, he smiled slightly.

"Thanks guys…oh here, do you want the card? I know you collect them?" Neville asked and handed Harry the card before heading to bed. Neville did get on my nerves sometimes, but I really did feel sorry for him. He was so shy and sweet and didn't deserve a lot of the bullying he received from both Malfoy and Snape.

"_Flamel!_" I jumped as Harry's sudden burst of excitement.

"Flamel!" I repeated, startled.

"No listen! I _knew_ I've heard the name before! I read it on Dumbledore's card when I got it on the train here! Listen to this: 'Dumbledore is particularly famous for his defeat of the dark wizard Grindewald in 1945, for the discovery of the twelve uses of dragon blood, _and for his work on alchemy with his partner, Nicolas Flamel_!'"

I've never seen Hermione so excited in the time I've known her. She raced up to our dorm and returned with a heavy black book. "I picked this out for a bit of light reading. I never thought to look in it!"

"_This _is_ light_?" Ron said incredulously, but Hermione shushed him and flicked through the pages frantically. She turned to the page she was searching for and pointed to the line enthusiastically. "Nicolas Flamel is the only known maker of the Sorcerer's Stone!"

"The what?" Harry, Ron and I said confused.

"Honestly, don't you _read_? 'The Sorcerer's Stone is a legendary substance with astonishing powers. It will transform any metal into pure gold and produce the Elixir of Life which will make the drinker immortal.'"

"Immortal?" questioned Ron.

"'Last year Nicolas Flamel celebrated his six hundred and sixty-fifth birthday and resides peacefully in Devon with his wife Perenelle (six hundred and fifty-eight),'" Hermione read in response. My jaw dropped. How could anyone be that _old_? "That's what Fluffy's guarding. That's what's under that trapdoor. The Sorcerer's Stone."

After a silent pause, I voice what we were all thinking. "And Snape's after it."

~o~

The Quidditch match approached closer and closer and the team grew increasingly more nervous. By the day of the game, the butterflies in my stomach were almost a terrible as my first game. I listened intently to Wood's pep talk, trying to take my mind off Snape and the fact that we'd be playing his team if we beat Hufflepuff.

"Everyone's out there—bloody hell, is that Dumbledore?" Fred told us. Harry looked very relieved oddly enough. We soon marched out onto the fresh field, earning cheers from the school. Both Harry and I noticed that Snape looked positively murderous. But why?

The whistle was blown and the fourteen Quidditch players took off into the air. Fred and I whacked the few Bludgers out of the way of our players, but stayed off to the side. Fred had taken one opportunity to hit a Bludger at Snape, which earned Hufflepuff a free shot, but I'd agree with Fred any day. It was completely worth it!

I watched the game intently and angrily (Snape gave Hufflepuff another penalty for no reason), not too far away from where my friends were sitting. My ears perked up when I heard Malfoy's voice start up again. "I think I've caught onto how they choose people for the Gryffindor team. They pick people they feel sorry for. There's Potter, who's got no parents; Black, who's got no class; the Weasleys, who've got no money—you should be on the team, Longbottom, you've got no brains." I let my increasing fury out by hitting another Bludger that was shot in my direction.

"I'm worth twelve of you, Malfoy," I heard Neville say bravely. I smiled. Good job, Neville!

"You tell him, Neville," Ron said over Malfoy and his bodyguards' laughter.

"Longbottom, if brains were gold you'd be poorer than Weasley, and that's saying something!" I couldn't take it anymore; my hair was already blazing red. I whirled around on my broom.

"SHUT IT, MALFOY!" I bellowed thunderous enough so he could hear me loud and clear. He peered up, and even from the height, I could still see the sneer plastered on his face.

"And then there's Black, the soon to be fugitive! I bet you won't even last long enough in Hogwarts to see a Quidditch cup!" he yelled. His statement directed towards me didn't affect me at all. His insults of my friends, however, infuriated me to the extreme.

"You're forgetting, Malfoy, that not only am I the one of us with a heavy bat, but also the one that is able to use said bat to hit Bludgers at people!" I glowered viciously. Suddenly, the crowd cheered. I swiveled around just in time to watch Harry's spectacular dive. When he pulled up from the drop, he held the snitch in his hand. I almost fell from my broom with my cry of excitement. That game lasted barely 5 minutes! Was that a record?

I, along with the rest of our team, trampled Harry jubilantly. Thanks to Harry, Gryffindor was in first place!

~o~

"It really is Snape—he's trying to force Quirrell to help him get the Stone!" Harry told Ron, Hermione and I later that night. He had been gone for quite a bit of time, before he returned frantically and pulled us into an empty classroom. "He asked if Quirrell knew how to get pass Fluffy. I'm thinking that there are other things guarding the Stone besides Fluffy—like enchantments, something that Quirrell needs to perform a…anti-Dark Arts spell that Snape needs to break through."

"So," Hermione started, "the Stone is only safe as long as Quirrell stands up to Snape?"

"Because Quirrell is the only one that knows how to get pass those enchantments?" I clarified.

"I'll be gone by next Tuesday," Ron stated solemnly.

"Maybe less," I agreed.

**Thanks for reading and please review! I'm gonna try something new for reviewing. After reading this chapter, just rate it! Here are the ratings:**

**5 (best)—Sirius Black  
4—Neville Longbottom  
3—Dobby  
2—Quirinius Quirrell  
1 (worst)—Dolores Umbridge**

**Rate and if possible, tell me what you liked/disliked about it!**

**CaptJess :)**


	13. We are in Trouble

**Yay, this is out quicker! Almost done with book # 1. I think I've got about 3 chapters left and then I'll finally move onto book #2! Whoo! :D**

**And today is also a special day! It is September 5, my prized and treasured character, Lydia Andromeda Black's, birthday! That's why I just had to get this chapter out today! :D**

Chapter 13  
We are in Trouble

But by next Tuesday, the Stone wasn't stolen. Snape's temper was worse than ever and Quirrell grew increasingly more twitchy and nervous. But this was good, because it meant the Stone was so far secure. Harry, Ron, Hermione and I worked on showing him any signs of encouragement we could when we simply passed him in the hallways, or were just in class.

However, as we were far into the end of March by now, school work was piled on us by the pound in preparation for the end of the year exams. These exams were the most important tests in all of first year; we were required to pass them in order to advance to second year! Hermione had no trouble reminding us all of this and was already studying feverishly.

She dragged us all, I extremely unwillingly, back to the dreaded library to study. Although I despised going, I actually needed the extra time to complete all my work. It was both good and bad to have Hermione there. Good, because she walked me through most of the homework and helped me understand the difficult stuff; bad, because she spent most of the time muttering to herself and nagging one, two or all three of us if she caught any of us slacking.

"Hagrid, what are you doing in the library?" Ron suddenly said. Harry, Hermione and I all looked up to greet our friend. I turned confused when Hagrid appeared startled instead of happy to see us; he was also hiding something behind his back…something he clearly didn't want anyone to see.

"Jus' lookin'," he said cautiously. "An' what're yer lot up ter? Yer not still lookin' fer Nicolas Flamel?" he added suspiciously.

"Oh, we found out who he was ages ago," Ron said impassively. "_And _we found out that that dog's guarding the Sorcerer's St—"

Hagrid shushed him worriedly, glancing about to make sure no one had heard Ron. "Don' jus' go shoutin' it out!"

"Well there's actually a few things we wanted to ask you about it—"Harry started, but Hagrid cut him off, looking around once more.

"Look, come see me later," he told us in a hushed voice. "I'm not promisin' anythin', but it's better than here with a bunch of students hangin' aroun'." With that, he hurried off, still guarding whatever it was out of view.

Hermione was the first to say what all of us were thinking. "What was he hiding behind his back?"

"Hold on, I'm going to go see what section he was in," Ron said, rising from his seat. A minute later, he was slamming a pile of books onto our table. The first thing I noticed was that each book had "Dragon" in the title. "_Dragons! _Hagrid was looking up stuff about dragons!"

"Hagrid's always wanted a dragon," Harry commented. "He told Lydia and I the first time we met him." I thought back to that day when Hagrid introduced us to the wizarding world. I did recall him saying it, now that Harry mentioned it.

"So he could have been hiding a dragon behind his back!" I offered, but then paused. "…Wait, how is that possible? Unless I'm mistaken, dragons are rather large, aren't they?"

"They're huge!" Ron assured. "Plus, it's against our laws to own one. Dragon breeding was outlawed by the Warlock's Convention of 1709, everyone knows that ("Right, everyone," I added, sarcastic.). _And_, you can't tame them, anyway, they're dangerous! You should see some of the burns Charlie's got from the ones in Romania!"

"Hmm, I think it's time to pay a visit to Hagrid's," I said suspiciously. Harry and Ron nodded gratefully, quick to flee from studying. Hermione glumly followed along. Unusually, Hagrid's curtains were all closed. When he discovered it was us, he let us in cautiously, and hurriedly shut the door behind us.

It was like stepping into a furnace. "Hagrid, it's so _hot_ in here!" I complained.

He nervously coughed. "Um, yeah…so, yeh wanted to ask me somethin'?"

"We were wondering if there's anything besides Fluffy guarding the Sorcerer's Stone?" Harry replied instantly, making Hagrid frown almost as quickly.

"Couldn' tell yeh, cause I don' know meself," he said huffily. "Not ter mention that yeh four know too much already. I still haven' figured out how yeh know 'bout Fluffy…"

"But, Hagrid," Hermione began in a sweet, flattering voice, "you know _everything_ that goes around at Hogwarts." Hagrid started to smile. "We only wondered who had done the guarding really. We wondered who Dumbledore trusted enough to help him, besides you." Hagrid's chest swelled proudly, and we beamed at Hermione.

"Well…I guess it couldn' hurt to tell yeh that Dumbledore did borrow Fluffy from me. And then I think some o' the teachers did enchantments…Professor Sprout—Professor Flitwick—Professor McGonagall—Professor Quirrell—Dumbledore did somethin' o' course—oh yeah, and Professor Snape."

"And that's what we were afraid of," I said dully.

"Yer not still on 'bout that are yeh? Snape is helping _protect _the Stone, he's not gonna steal it!" Hagrid attempted to assure. But my friends and I would have nothing of it. We knew there was something up with Snape—and this practically confirmed it!

Anxiously, Harry asked, "You're the only one who knows how to get pass Fluffy right? You didn't tell anyone?"

"Not a soul except me an' Dumbledore," he stated with pride. At least we had a little bit of good news it seemed.

Fanning myself, I asked, "Ugh, Hagrid can we put out that fire or open a window of something? I'm _dying_!" It wasn't until then that I glanced at the treacherous fire—I was startled to find a large black egg underneath the kettle sitting in the heart of a fire. My jaw dropped, thinking back to the books Hagrid had been reading in the library. "Hagrid, is that-?"

"But, how'd you get one, Hagrid?" Ron questioned, amazed by the egg. "It must have cost you a fortune!"

Hagrid shook his hairy head. "Won it. I went down to Hogsmeade Village to have a few drinks an' got into a game o' cards with some guy in the pub. He seemed quite glad to be rid o' it, ter be honest."

"But what are you going to do with it when it has hatched?" said Hermione vigilantly. Once he had explained all about just exactly how he planned to raise it as its "mother" and the "simple" requirements he needed to do in order for it to hatch and grow. Apparently this type of dragon he owned was a rare Norwegian Ridgeback, which required a bucket of brandy/chicken blood mix every half hour.

"Hagrid, you live in a _wooden house_."

~o~

So not only did we have to worry about school work, studying to pass out first year exams, making sure the Stone was still protected from Snape and (in the case of Harry and I) Quidditch, but now we had to fret about Hagrid's illegal dragon.

"Wonder what it's like to have a peaceful life," Ron commented one day. I snorted in agreement.

And nearly a month since the day we had found out about the dragon, Hagrid finally sent us the note we were dreading: "_It's hatching_." After all of our morning classes—and after a very close encounter from Malfoy regarding him overhearing about the dragon—we headed off to Hagrid's. As worried as I was about Hagrid hoarding an illicit dragon, I was very interested. How many times in my life would I see a dragon hatch? I didn't even believe in dragons before last July!

_Inside Hagrid's hut, it was considerably cooler than the last time we had visited, but not by much. The giant black egg lay on the table. From it came weird noises, like shuffling; and there were massive cracks in it. It wouldn't be much longer now. Pulling up chairs, the four of us and Hagrid all stared at it intently._

_In less than a minute, the egg split in one fluid movement and the jet back baby dragon popped out. When I normally pictured dragons in my head, I imagined them these beautiful, graceful yet terrifying creatures that soared high in the sky, no care in the world. This thing—was nothing like that. It kinda just looked like a dark crumpled piece of paper with a few boils._

_"Isn't he __beautiful__?" Hagrid squeaked excitedly. The dragon snapped at his fingers when he reached to stroke it. Hagrid's eyes gleamed even more at this display. "Bless him, he knows his mommy!" I couldn't stop my eyebrow from rising. But suddenly, the excitement and color both drained from Hagrid's face and he hastily pointed at the window. "There was a kid looking through the gap in the curtain. He must be headin' fer the castle now."_

_My friends and I bolted for the door to catch a glimpse of the boy. With one look at the back of his stupid little blonde head, we identified him immediately. Harry, Ron, Hermione and I shared a fearful glanced and said all at once, "Malfoy."_

_There was no denying it either—within the next week, Malfoy's normal smirk turned more and more cocky, something that made my friends and me very nervous. We urged Hagrid to get rid of the dragon before anybody else could see it, or worse—Malfoy proved it right._

_"But—I can't!" Hagrid "He's too little. And I've named him! I'm callin' him Norbert. He really knows who his mommy is now, watch! Norbert! Norbert! Where's mommy?"_

_The dragon merely coughed on him, setting his beard on fire. I sighed watching the scene with little interest. "Hagrid! Within two weeks Norbert's going to be as long as your house! Malfoy could go to Dumbledore or—any of the teachers any minute!" Harry reasoned._

_"I personally fear the wrath of McGonagall more than Dumbledore," I threw in. Hagrid sighed sadly._

_"I know I can't keep him forever, but I can't jus' dump him!"_

_A light bulb went off in my head, and glancing at Harry, I knew he got exactly the same idea. "Charlie," Harry said to Ron._

_"You're losing it, mate. I'm Ron, remember?" I narrowed my eyes and flicked him in the head._

_"Ow!" Ron cried, rubbing the back of his head. "What was that for?"_

_"Your __brother__! We can send your brother, who studies dragons, the dragon!" I said slowly. Ron's face lit up._

_"Oh…right!"_

_Hagrid was reluctant, but what other choice did he have?_

_~o~_

_At midnight on the night of May 6, I was up late with Harry and Hermione in the common room. The person we were waiting for finally burst through the common room entrance, pulling the invisibility cloak from his head and clutching his finger. It was wrapped in a bloody handkerchief._

_"It bit me!" Ron hollered. "The bloody thing bit me! I swear that thing is the most horrible creature I've ever met, but the way Hagrid goes on about it, you'd think it's a fluffy bunny rabbit! He told me off for frightening it when it bit me!" He flopped down, exasperated and grumbling to himself. We barely heard Hedwig tapping on the glass of a window through Ron's rant._

_"That's Charlie's answer!" Harry said, racing to the door to let his owl in. Charlie's letter told us to meet his friends with the dragon on the top of tallest tower at midnight on Saturday. I grinned at the adventure._

_"Midnight on Saturday, with a dragon?" I repeated and then beamed at them. "Let's do this!" I added excitedly. Harry shook his head, smiling._

_"Only you would find fun in this," he noted, chuckling._

_By Saturday at about quarter to midnight, Harry, Hermione and I (under the invisibility cloak) came to take the dragon from Hagrid. Ron was in the hospital wing for his infected dragon bite, which left only us three to go on this mission. Also, Malfoy now knew exactly what we were up to; he had sneakily gotten his greasy hands on Charlie's letter. We knew to expect him._

_"Bye, bye, Norbert!" Hagrid sobbed heavy tears that plopped to the ground like raindrops. I smiled at him reassuringly, and Harry, Hermione and I left with the dragon crate in our hands. It was a struggle just getting it up to castle—I didn't know how we were going to make it up to the top tower._

_Already out of breath, the three of us dragged the crate up each flight of stairs, all the while trying to make as little sound as possible. Less than a group of stairs away from our destination, we saw shadows out of the corner of our eyes. I clamped my hand over my mouth to stop the loud laughter that would have emanated from it when I saw Malfoy being dragged by the ear by Professor McGonagall. Even Hermione could barely contain her laughter._

_"Detention—and twenty points from Slytherin! How dare you, wandering around in the middle of the night—"_

_"But, Professor, you don't understand! Harry Potter is going to be here—carrying a dragon!"_

_"What rubbish! You dare tell such lies! Well—I shall see Professor Snape about you, Malfoy!"_

_When they were gone, the three of us toppled over in laughter. Hermione did some sort of dance. "Malfoy's got detention, I could sing!" she mused._

_"Don't," Harry stated, sniggering._

_"'Harry Potter—carrying a dragon! I'm a nosy snoop!'" I mocked, causing more laughter from us. We were waiting for about ten minutes when Charlie's cheery friends showed. They buckled Norbert safely into their harness—and Norbert was finally gone!_

_We jumped down the stairs with happiness, but we only took one step into the corridor and were met with Filch's face. "Well, well, well, we __are__ in trouble," he sneered. I took one glance down—I could see my feet—we had left the invisibility cloak in the top tower…_

_I slowly pulled out my wand and said, "__Alarte Ascendare!" __He fell for it again, and ascended in the air with a yell. When he came down, he was fuming._

_"__You__—that was __you__ on Christmas!" Filch sputtered. "I've been trying to catch you for months, you little criminal!" Silently, I slipped behind Hermione and used her for protection. She merely sighed, shaking her head._

_Filch grabbed the three of us and dragged us down to McGonagall. I couldn't believe this was happening to us—just a minute ago we were cheery as could be! McGonagall's study was empty when Filch threw us in; we sat in silent fear the whole time we were waiting for her. There was no possible way to explain what we had been doing to her without throwing Hagrid under the bus. Well, if it took getting us expelled for Hagrid to keep his job, so be it._

_And things got worse. When McGonagall finally burst angrily into her study, she was leading Neville. He lit up when he saw us. "Harry, Lydia, I was trying to find you and warn you! Malfoy was saying that he was going to catch you—"He was cut off by Harry violently shaking his head, which McGonagall had seen of course. She could have breathed fire._

_All she said, very sharply, "__Explain yourselves.__"_

_All of us remained silent._

_"I've got a good idea what's been going on," she started once we had all failed to answer her. "You fed Draco Malfoy some cock-and-bull story about a dragon, trying to get him in trouble. It worked. I've already caught him. I suppose you think it's funny that Longbottom here believed it too." I wanted so badly to tell her the truth, but I just couldn't. I didn't look either McGonagall or Neville in the eye._

_"I'm disgusted," she continued menacingly. "Five students out of bed in one night. You, Miss Granger, I thought you had more sense. Miss Black, I expected trouble out of you, but never something like this. As for you, Mr. Potter, I thought Gryffindor meant more to you than this. All four of you will receive detentions—yes, you too, Mr. Longbottom; __nothing__ gives you the right to wander about the school at night. Fifty points will be taken from Gryffindor."_

_I looked up at her in shock. "Fifty?" Harry repeated horrified._

_"Fifty each." My jaw dropped. That was 200 points! I felt like crying._

_"And, if you'll excuse me Professor, I'd like to give Black here three extra detentions," Filch broke in, his voice malicious. "However, perhaps she will only serve one she'll tell me the two she was with Christmas night."_

_"What?" The surprise was evident in my voice. How could have he not been able to identify Fred and George. What other super tall redheaded twins were there in the school? I paused. "There was no one with me."_

_"Don't lie!" he yelled. "I saw two others with you as you were escaping, you little devil!"_

_"There was no one with me!" I repeated hysterically. Maybe if I sounded desperate enough, McGonagall would choose to believe me instead of Filch. "I promise! It was just me!" McGonagall sighed._

_"I don't want to know what this is about, but I assure that Miss Black will happily take the extra detentions; however, Mr. Filch, it sounds to me that she is telling the truth," she said as calmly as she could. I almost sighed in relief. Filch fumed, and glared at me. "Now return to your beds, all of you!" she ordered, and walked off muttering, "Never in my life—"_

_When morning came, the rumor had spread and everyone had seen the hourglasses; the Gryffindor one now had 200 less points in it. Us four (particularly Harry) were now the least popular kids in the school. Though I suffered less than Harry, all those who had liked me yesterday now would not talk to me. Out of the whole school, Ron and my cousin Jason were the only ones who stood by us._

_"They'll forget all this in a few weeks," Ron assured._

_"It's not like they haven't lost before," said Jason. "It's just the House Cup; it's not a big deal."_

_However, the House Cup sounded a lot like a big deal to me._

_During Quidditch practice, Harry and Oliver were the only two who would speak to me—and Oliver only because he needed to. I was fuming at Fred and George by the end of practice. I was one of their best friends and they treated me like I was some stranger they met on the street! Even after I had taken all the blame for them!_

_"You have no reason to ignore me!" I cried at them after practice. Completely contradicting this, they ignored me, and started to head up to the castle. I followed angrily. "Remember Christmas? Filch has been looking for who did it this whole time!"_

_They didn't stop. My hair faded into a bright, dangerous red. "When I got caught last night, he realized it was me. And he told me that my consequences wouldn't be as bad if I identified the other two that were with me! You know what I told him? I told him that he was making things up and that there was absolutely no one else with me on Christmas!" They finally paused and looked back at me, stunned._

_"So," I continued furiously, "now I've got three extra detentions on top of the one I got for wandering around the castle last night. So you're welcome!" I pushed through them heatedly, storming up to the castle without a second glance back._

_Nothing got much better in the next few weeks. I served my three detentions with Filch (which were all boring sessions of shining the trophies in the trophy room and writing lines), and now had only one left to go. Harry, Ron, Hermione and I stayed mostly to ourselves, studying and doing homework. The school was beginning to forget about this whole thing, but not enough to reaccept Harry, Hermione and I again._

_Not to mention Snape had finally gotten Quirrell to crack. Harry had told us the whole thing! Now that he knew how to get pass the enchantment, what else was stopping him—besides the gigantic three headed dog, I mean?_

_Hermione offered going to Dumbledore, but Harry answered her correctly—we had no proof on Snape. Ron and I wanted the adventure, despite how badly our last one had enough. "If we just did a little poking around—"Ron started. Harry shook his head._

_"No, we've done enough poking around," Harry replied, turning back to his homework. As much as I hated it, I had to agree._

_**Please, please, please review. I've tried everything to get reviews! Please! Haha. Tell me what you liked/disliked!**_

_**CaptJess :)**_


	14. Into the Forest

**Got this chapter done quickly! ;D**

**All that's left is the Trapdoor and the end! This story will most likely be 16 chapters. :)**

Chapter 14  
Into the Forest

On May 26th at 11 pm, Harry, Hermione, Neville and I said our goodbyes to Ron and left for our detentions with Filch. Malfoy was already there waiting alongside Filch in the entrance hall. Filch led us outside when we had all arrived and rambled all the way down to…Hagrid's hut?

"Is that you, Filch? Hurry up, I want ter get started!"

Harry and I shared a glance and a smile, relieved. Filch noticed and assured, "Don't think your punishment will be any easier with that oaf. Into the forest you're going—I'll be surprised to see you come out alive."

Malfoy halted abruptly. "The Forest? That's a joke right? W-we can't go in there! There are—werewolves!" I rolled my eyes.

"Should've thought of those werewolves before you went snooping about the castle, eh?" Filch grinned maliciously. Hagrid emerged from the darkness, a bow and arrow slung over his shoulder and the giant bloodhound Fang at his heels.

"Yeh've bin lecturin' them, Filch? 'Snot yer place ter do that," Hagrid told him unhappily. "I'll take over now." Hagrid motioned for us to follow him as Filch left. Malfoy refused to budge.

"I'm not going in that forest," he declared, a hint of panic in his voice.

"Oh, suck it up, Malfoy," I demanded nastily.

"What they have us doing," he sneered at me, "is servant stuff. I thought we'd be copying lines or something. If my father knew I was doing this—"

"—he'd tell yeh that's how it is at Hogwarts!" Hagrid growled irritably. "Copyin' lines! What good's that ter anyone? Yeh'll do summat useful or yeh'll get out. If yeh think yer father'd rather you were expelled, then get back off ter the castle an' pack. Go on."

Malfoy glared furiously at Hagrid, but didn't move.

"Right then," said Hagrid, "now, listen carefully, 'cause it's dangerous what we're gonna do tonight, an' I don' want no one takin' risks. Follow me a moment."

Hagrid showed them some silvery fluid on the ground. It was apparently unicorn blood, and it came from something that was trying to hurt them, now twice in a row! "Now, were going ter split up into two groups. Follow the track in diff'rent directions."

"I want Fang," Malfoy burst out.

Hagrid shrugged. "All righ', but I'll let yer know, he's a bloody coward." Hagrid scanned over us, divided us into groups in his head. "So, me, Harry, an' Hermione'll go one way an' Lydia, Draco, Neville an' Fang'll go the other." I groaned. Malfoy?

"Sorry, had ter put someone with him," Hagrid muttered to me. "If anyone finds the unicorn, send up green sparks. But if anyone gets in trouble, send up red sparks an' we'll find yeh. Alrigh'? Let's go."

I sighed heavily and headed off in the opposite direction of Hagrid and two of my best friends. At least I had Neville, but come on—Malfoy? How could my life be any worse? Who knows how long I'd be stuck with him?

"Just wait til my father hears about this—"he grumbled to himself, stomping near Fang. I rolled my eyes again, getting more annoyed with every word he spoke.

"Is that all you can say?" I asked irately. "You know, to me it sounds as if you're scared. Always crying off to daddy?" Malfoy glowered at me.

"At least I have a daddy to cry to, Black," he said smoothly. My hair faded red and I growled at him, sounding much like an angry vicious dog. I didn't even notice Neville look away sadly. I raised my fist.

"Why you little—"

"Guys! Did you hear that?" Neville said suddenly, clutching onto my sleeve.

Malfoy and I both stopped and listened carefully. I heard absolutely nothing. Furrowing my eyebrows, I shook my head.

"Come on. Let's just keep going," I said.

We trudged on for a few minutes in silence, listening to any potential noises and watching where we were going so we didn't trip in the darkness. I wasn't scared—maybe a little nervous, but not scared. Neville, however, was still clinging to my sleeve and Malfoy (though putting on an excellent brave act) was shaking slightly.

"I don't believe McGonagall for one second, you know," Malfoy cut through the silence. "I saw that dragon. I saw the Weasley brother's letter. I know what you were up to." I ignored him, crossing my arms over my chest and getting a bit ahead of Malfoy and Neville.

"So…there actually _was_ a dragon?" Neville asked.

"Yes!...wait, no!" I said, then shook my head and whirled around to face them. "Look, I'm not discussing this with either of you! _Especially_ not you Malfoy! Come on, Neville." Neville caught up to me while Malfoy took the back. There was more silence for a few seconds, but this time I broke it.

"How are we supposed to find unicorn blood, if we can't find a unicorn?" I said to Neville. "Personally, I've never exactly seen a unicorn. Have you?"

"Only from books…I prefer not to go looking for them," he replied. I smiled. Noticing that it was rather quiet behind us, I turned around. Behind us was nothing. No Malfoy, no Fang, no anything. Just forest.

"Oh, now where'd he go?" I cried and then paused. I added as an afterthought, "You know what, I hope he got lost! …Maybe a werewolf ate him! …well, one can hope."

Neville laughed, but then glanced around nervously. "Do you think there's actually werewolves in the forest?" We paused, debating this.

Suddenly, something landed behind us with a loud thump and I heard a small animal like whimper. Neville screamed, and I jumped, pulling out my wand at lightning speed. Neville had already sent up red sparks with his—but there was no need, for the only thing behind us was a pleased Malfoy and a slightly whimpering Fang.

I bared my teeth. "YOU ABSOLUTE IDIOT! You are so _stupid_—sneaking up on us like that! Now Hagrid's going to think we're being eaten or something! Not to mention, all the ruckus you caused could have attracted whatever is ATTACKING THE UNICORNS!" Malfoy halted from laughing and paled.

Before I could punch him in the face as planned, Hagrid came stumbling into our location, out of breath and startled. His looked turned to one of confusion as he stared at us. "What happened here?" he yelled.

"Ask this moron here!" I snarled, glaring at the blonde Slytherin boy. Malfoy mumbled something incoherent. "Sorry?" Hagrid growled.

"I snuck up behind Black and Longbottom and tried to scare them. _That _one sent up the red sparks," Malfoy repeated grumpily. Hagrid looked beyond himself in fury.

"Now what exactly prompted yeh ter believe that was a good idea?" Hagrid snapped, and grabbed Malfoy by the shoulder, not bothering for an answer. He led us to where he had left Harry and Hermione. They both stood fearfully. Their expressions lightened once they saw that none of us were hurt.

"What happened?" they asked me. I shook my head, rolling my eyes, gesturing slightly to Malfoy.

"Malfoy here decided it'd be funny to scare these two," Hagrid grumbled irritably. "Neville ended up shootin' the red sparks." Hagrid and I both glowered at Malfoy. "Alrigh', new groups. Neville and Lydia, yeh two'll come with me an' Hermione. Harry, yeh go with Fang an' this idiot."

I shot Harry a sympathetic look. "Better you than me," I murmured to him. "Any longer and I would have murdered him." And so Hermione, Neville, Hagrid and I set off in a direction I hadn't yet gone. I had a feeling this was the wrong way—the blood got thinner and thinner than it was where I'd been with Neville and Malfoy.

"Anything eventful happen with you guys?" I asked Hermione. She shook her head no.

"Not really," she replied. "Although, Mars is bright tonight." I looked over at her. She seemed completely serious.

"…What?"

"Centaurs," was her only reply.

We must have traveled for about another 40 minutes. Although the blood hadn't completely disappeared, there were only a few spots here and there. Wherever the unicorn was, it for sure wasn't anywhere near us. Hagrid seemed to realize this as well.

"Harry and Malfoy got ter be goin' in the righ' direction. Hopefully we'll see some green sparks soon," Hagrid anticipated. Just as she said this, there was a thudding noise coming towards us. Before Hagrid could even raise his giant bow, we saw Malfoy and Fang sprinting into our view—Harry wasn't with him.

"Malfoy, where the bloody hell is Harry?" I growled worriedly.

"Unicorn—cloaked figure—drinking its blood," Malfoy panted, taking deep breaths in between words.

"…And you LEFT HIM THERE?" I screamed.

"Now's not the time!" Hagrid cried and bolted down the path. Hermione and I followed, as did Neville and Malfoy, not wanting to be left behind in the forest. What if Harry never escaped it? What if the thing killing the unicorn got to Harry? What if my best friend—my brother—was…dead? My eyes flooded with frantic tears and I ran even faster.

When we got into a small clearing, the first thing I saw was a centaur. It was—beautiful, in a way. It had a palomino body, white-blonde hair and striking blue eyes. Sitting on top of the centaur, I realized with a huge rush of great relief, was Harry, completely unharmed.

"Harry, are you all right?" Hermione cried.

In some kind of a daze, Harry nodded. "I'm fine. The unicorn's back there, Hagrid. It's dead." The centaur bent down on his knees so Harry could hop of his back.

"This is where I leave you, Harry Potter. You are safe now," the centaur told him, in a gentle, dreamy voice. I beamed appreciatively at him, hoping he would understand how grateful I was to him. "Good luck. The planets have been read wrongly before now, even by centaurs. I hope this is one of those times."

With that, the centaur galloped back into the dark depths of the forest. I didn't waste any time—I dashed up to Harry, throwing my arms around him. "You _have_ to stop scaring me like this!" I ordered playfully.

Back in the common room, Harry explained to Ron, Hermione and I what had happened when he was left alone in the forest. He and Malfoy had discovered the unicorn just as a hooded figure began to drink from it—drink the unicorn's blood. Almost like a vampire! He told us that it had seen him; and when it did, it started to approach him. The centaur, named Firenze, had saved him from the thing just in time.

"The hooded figure—it was Voldemort," he finished. My jaw dropped. Ron gasped from shock and fear, also flinching at the sound of the name. Hermione jumped, going wide-eyed.

"That thing—was _Voldemort_?" I repeated, astonished. Ron flinched again. "But _how_?" Harry shrugged. He was obviously still incredibly shaken from the encounter.

"That explains _everything_ though!" Harry said, pacing in front of the fire. "Snape wants the stone for Voldemort…and Voldemort's waiting in the forest…and all this time we just thought Snape wanted to get rich!"

"Stop saying the name!" Ron whispered fearfully. Harry ignored him.

"Firenze saved me, but he shouldn't have done so…Bane was furious…he was talking about interfering with what the planets say is going to happen…they must say that Voldemort's coming back…Bane thinks Firenze should have let Voldemort kill me…I supposed that's what's written in the stars as well."

"So all I've got to wait for now is Snape to steal the Stone," Harry continued, "then Voldemort will be able to come and finish me off… Well, I suppose Bane'll be happy."

"If the stars said that Voldemort was supposed to kill you tonight…well, clearly that didn't happen," I started soothingly. It didn't come out too well considering my voice shook with nervousness at the thought of Voldemort coming back for Harry. He didn't dare lay a single finger on my best friend…

"Plus, nothing's going to happen with Dumbledore around, Harry," Hermione assured him. "Dumbledore's said to be the only one You-Know-Who was ever afraid of. With him around, nothing and no one is going to touch you. With Dumbledore around, you're safe."

Before we headed to bed, Harry pulled me aside. "There's something else—something I didn't tell the others."

"What is it, Harry?"

He rubbed his head—more specifically, his lightning bolt scar. "When Voldemort saw me—when I saw him…my scar. It was the worst pain I've ever felt."

"You're…scar started hurting?" I clarified. Harry nodded. My eyes widened. "Voldemort's the one who _gave_ you that scar…this is bad."

Still rubbing his scar, Harry agreed. "Very bad."

~o~

The first year exams had finally arrived. They weren't as I expected—in a good way. They were actually fairly simple and easy. Definitely not worth all the homework we had been given. We took all of our writing tests in one large classroom with new quills charmed with an Anti-Cheating spell, and all in one large, sweltering hot classroom.

I knew that I successfully passed the Charms and Transfiguration exams—the spells we had to perform were reasonably uncomplicated. McGonagall was pleasantly surprised. Snape's exam was far worse. Ironically, I spent most of the time trying to remember how to create a Forgetfulness potion. All in all, I did fairly okay on it though.

Our last exam was History of Magic, which I never paid any attention to whatsoever. Basically, I made up random answers, and filled in bubbles in the strongly decisive strategy of "what letter haven't I used in a while?" When Professor Binns finally told us to put down our quills, I cheered the loudest of the class.

"Freedom!" I couldn't help but yell, which earned a few laughs from my classmates.

But Harry wasn't as cheery as the rest of us. His scar hadn't stopped hurting since that day in the forest. He had come to the conclusion that he thought it meant something. Something like danger is coming. When we were calming sitting near our favorite tree by the lake, relaxing after our long exams, Harry suddenly jumped to his feet.

"Where're you going?" Ron questioned sleepily.

Harry was now paled and frantic. "We've got to go see Hagrid. Now." I groaned, but hopped up and sprinted to catch up with him. "Don't you think it's a bit odd that what Hagrid want more than anything is a dragon and a stranger turns up and just happens to have one? I mean, how many people wander around with dragon eggs in their pockets? Why didn't I see it before?"

We reached Hagrid's house quickly. Hagrid was sitting outside, and he smiled widely when he saw us. "Hullo. Finished yer exams?" he asked cheerfully.

"Yes, we did. But Hagrid, I've got to ask you something. Who gave you the dragon egg? What did he look like?" Harry said.

"Dunno," Hagrid responded nonchalantly. "He wouldn' take his cloak off." The four of us exchanged stunned looks.

"What did you talk to him about? Did you mention Hogwarts at all?" Harry asked.

Hagrid frowned in deep thought, trying to remember what had happened that day. "Mighta come up…yeah, he asked what I did…then he asked what kinda creatures I look after...he said he had a dragon egg and I told him that I'd always wanted a dragon and that after Fluffy, a dragon would be easy."

"And did he seem interested in Fluffy?" Harry asked cautiously.

"Well of course he was interested in Fluffy! How often do you come across three headed dogs?" Hagrid exclaimed. "So I told him that Fluffy's a piece o' cake if yeh know how ter calm him down—jus' play him a bit o' music and he'll go right ter sleep—"

Hagrid suddenly gave us a terrified look. "I shouldn'ta told yeh that!"

Harry, Ron, Hermione and I shared horrified glances and immediately took off towards the castle. Hagrid called after us, but we didn't listen or stop. "We have to see Dumbledore immediately! Whether that stranger in the cloak was Voldemort or Snape—either way, he knows how to get past Fluffy! I just hope Dumbledore believes us. Where's his office?"

"What are you four doing inside?" McGonagall said from behind us.

"We have to see Professor Dumbledore!" Hermione proposed quickly. McGonagall raised her brows.

"Why?"

"Erm—it's sort of a secret," Harry replied, making McGonagall's nostrils flare dangerously. But honestly, what else could we tell her?

"Professor Dumbledore," she started coldly, "left ten minutes ago. He received an urgent owl from the Ministry of Magic and left immediately for London."

Well, we really did have no choice. "But, Professor—this is about the Sorcerer's Stone!" I told her bravely. McGonagall was so startled that the books she was holding tumbled right out of her arms. She didn't even bother to pick them up.

"How did you know-?" she sputtered astonished.

"Professor, we think—we _know_—that someone is going to try to steal it. We've really got to talk to Professor Dumbledore," Harry insisted.

It took a while for McGonagall to respond, but when she did, she did not sound very pleased. "Professor Dumbledore will be back tomorrow. Now, I don't know how exactly you found out about to Stone, but I assure you, it is well protected. No one could possibly steal it."

We stood and watched as one of our last hopes disappeared around a corner, carrying her stack of books to her office. After a close encounter with Snape himself, we decided on a plan. Hermione was to keep an eye on Snape, to make sure he didn't look too suspicious throughout the day. Harry, Ron and I loomed near the third floor corridor, near the room separating us from Fluffy. However, McGonagall caught us again and lost her temper, threatening another fifty points. We didn't dare risk it.

Harry, Ron and I returned to the common room solemnly. Hermione stumbled in no less than 10 minutes later. She had found Snape but now Snape had gone to find Flitwick for her. So she had almost worse luck than us.

"Well, that's it then," Harry stated. We all looked at him blankly. "I go down the trapdoor tonight and try to get to the stone first." Sounded like a reasonable plan.

"I'm right with you, mate," I replied.

"You're mad!" Ron cried.

"You can't! You'll get expelled!" Hermione added.

"So what?" Harry shouted. "Don't you understand? If Snape gets a hold of the Stone, Voldemort is back! If he comes back, there won't be a Hogwarts to be expelled from! Losing points doesn't matter anymore, don't you see? Winning the house cup for Gryffindor won't make him leave you and your families alone! If I get caught before I get to the Stone, I go back to the Dursleys. There I only have to wait a little longer before he finds me there—it's only dying a bit later than I would have, because I'm never going to the Dark Side! Voldemort killed my parents, remember? Nothing you two say can stop me! I'm going down that trapdoor tonight!"

Hermione silently nodded. "You're right, Harry."

"I just wonder if the invisibility cloak is going to cover all four of us," Ron said.

"All four of us?"

"You thought you were going alone?" I asked, scoffing in amusement. "No way! Can't get rid of us that easily, mate!"

"But you three could get expelled too!"

"Flitwick told me in secret that I got a hundred and twelve percent on the exam," Hermione told him. "They're not kicking me out after that!"

I paused shortly and then said, "You…are _such_ an overachiever!"

**Done! Please review! :D**

**CaptJess :)**


	15. The Ultimate Tests

**And finally, the ultimatum chapter! The moment everyone's been waiting for in the story! The second to last chapter! Down the Trapdoor! :D This is kinda a long one but I really hope everyone LOVES it! :D**

**And OMG, I got sooooo many more reviews last chapter than I have in any other part of this story! To KevS230180, MagicalNinjaUnicorn, SwordMasterZ and Mrs. 11: Thank you guys SO much! Your reviews made my day when I read them! :) Hopefully all my new reviewers will stick with Lydia til the end! :D**

**Review replies~**

**KevS230180—Haha, I try my absolute best to make Lydia as much like Sirius as possible so THANK YOU! :D Haha!**

**MagicalNinjaUnicorn—Thanks so much! And AWESOME idea for the 2****nd**** book, but I do already have something planned for her in that specific scene and it's hopefully gonna be pretty cool! So when that moment in the 2****nd**** comes, I hope you like it! :D**

**Disclaimer~ I only own Lydia and Jason and any other characters I decide to add in!**

Chapter 15  
The Ultimate Tests

My friends and I sat together in the common room, waiting patiently for our fellow Gryffindors to head off to bed and leave us alone so that we could make a clean escape. We sat in silence; Hermione was skimming through her notes in preparation for the enchantments we possibly had to face.

The last person to flee to bed was Lee Jordan. Harry cautiously slipped from the common room and into the boys' dormitory quickly, bringing back the invisibility cloak and the flute Hagrid had fashioned for him for Christmas.

We all scanned the room one last time and Harry told suggested, "We better put the cloak on here—make sure it covers all four of us. Just imagine if Filch saw only feet walking in the hallways—"

"What are you doing?" a voice rang out from the corner of the room. I was almost positive we had been alone! Harry stashed the cloak hurriedly behind his back, hoping that Neville hadn't seen any glimpse of it.

"Nothing!" both Harry and I replied a little too quickly.

"You're going out again," he said, disappointedly.

"No, no, no, we're not! Why don't you go back to bed, Neville?" Hermione insisted. We were wasting time having this discussion…we needed to leave now! Snape could have already gotten to Fluffy by now! But Neville would have nothing of it.

"You can't go out! You'll get caught again and Gryffindor will be in even more trouble!" Neville persisted. He had now stepped in front of the common room entrance.

"Please move," I stated firmly; my voice was stitched with a warning tone.

"I won't let you! I'll—I'll fight you!"

I raised my eyebrows in disbelief. "_Neville_," Ron stated irately, "get out of the way and don't be an idiot—"

"Don't you call me an idiot! I don't think you should be breaking any more rules! And it was you who told me to stand up to people!"

You know, he actually somewhat had a point. But nevermind that, this was ridiculous! Didn't Neville realize how important this was? If we could tell him what was going on, he'd understand! But alas, it was starting to look as if the only way to get out of the common room was to fight our own friend.

"Not to _us_," Ron exasperated. He took a step forward to push Neville out of the way, but Neville raised his fists as if to fight. I rolled my eyes. This wasn't going well.

"Go on then, try to hit me!" Neville said.

"Don't tempt me," I growled. Neville couldn't help but back off a bit at my dangerous tone, but surprisingly still stood his guard. Wow. This kid had guts. Who knew?

Finally, Hermione pulled out her wand. "Neville, I'm really, really sorry about this! _Perificus Totalus!_" In an instant, Neville's whole body went rigid and he fell to the floor, as stiff as a board and unable to move at all. Hermione quickly turned him over on his back. Only his blue eyes were able to move. "The full body-bind curse," she explained to us and turned back to Neville. "I'm really sorry."

"We had to. No time to explain," Harry added.

"Sorry," I said sadly with a small shrug.

"You'll understand later, Neville," Ron included. He threw the invisibility cloak over all four of us. It fit just fine—none of our feet were sticking out at all! We were jumpy all the way to the third floor corridor. We had even passed Peeves once; even though it was only Peeves, I nearly had a heart attack!

"I know you're here. Should call Filch, I should, if something's creeping around unseen," Peeves taunted, a wicked smile on his cruel face. I hated that ghost. So very much.

"Peeves," Harry said suddenly in a hoarse whisper, "the Bloody Baron has his own reasons for being invisible." It was much to my delight to watch Peeves nearly fall out of the air from shock and fright. Peeves practically begged forgiveness and swooshed off without another word.

"Brilliant, Harry!" Ron and I whispered. Harry beamed.

The door which held Fluffy was slightly ajar. My heart sunk into my stomach. Snape had already been here. This cast a feeling of dread throughout my friends and I. But we couldn't give up now. Oh no, not after what we knew could happen if we left this alone. Valiantly, I grasped onto Harry and Ron's hands in encouragement for all of us. Hermione, opposite of Ron, grabbed onto Ron's free hand. Together, we trudged forward, facing our possible doom.

The dog's three heads instantly began to snarl, and giant globs of drool hung from its mouth. It sniffed around for us madly, though it could not see us, thankfully. At its feet was a harp; it seems as if Snape had used the harp to pass Fluffy, but it woke the moment the music had stopped. Harry brought his wooden flute to his lips and blew. A soft noise came from it—it was enough. Fluffy's eyes instantaneously began to droop and it swiftly fell asleep.

"Keep playing," Ron warned as we crept closer to the trapdoor and the sleeping dog. He yanked the trapdoor open with ease and turned to Hermione. "I can't really see anything. Just black. It looks like we might just have to drop. Want to go first, Hermione?"

"No, I don't!" she cried.

Harry offered to go down first, quickly switching the flute over to Hermione. The dog slightly stirred and twitched in the moment's silence, but made quick work off falling back to sleep the second the flute sounded. "If something happens to me, don't follow. Go to the owlery and send a letter to Dumbledore." Ron and I nodded in understanding.

"Let's just hope that something doesn't happen," I said quietly. Harry gave me a last small smile and plunged down into the darkness. A few seconds went by before we heard a dull thump. Ron and I worriedly glanced at one another. Hermione tried to focus on playing the flute.

"It's ok!" Harry called up. Ron hopped through the hole.

"Go directly after me, ok Hermione?" I told her. She nodded, looking nervously up at the sleeping monstrous dog. Almost as if diving into a swimming pool, I held my breath and leaped. My landing was soft, for I was now sitting atop some kind of a plant. Hermione landed seconds after me.

"We must be miles under the school," she said.

"Lucky this plant thing's here, really," Ron said appreciatively.

"Lucky! Look at you!" Hermione shrieked. I looked down at my body. The plant has wound itself around my legs and was creeping up towards my stomach and shoulders. Harry and Ron had the same problem. Hermione was able to free herself quickly considering she hadn't been there as long. Using all my strength, I tried to yank the plant free from my legs, but it was no use. I was stuck!

"Stop moving! I know what this is—it's Devil's Snare!" Hermione yelled. Ron only struggled more.

"I'm so glad we know what it's called! That's great help!" he snarled sarcastically. I, however, did as Hermione said and ceased all movement. Though the plant continued to wrap around me, it did so much slower.

"Ok to kill it—oh, what is it! Devil's Snare, Devil's Snare…it likes the dark and damp—"Hermione contemplated, and then snapped her fingers. "That's it! I need to light a fire! But there's no wood…"

"HAVE YOU GONE MAD? ARE YOU WITCH OR NOT?" Ron hollered.

"Oh, right!" Hermione realized and cast a spell sending blue flames at the plant. The Devil's Snare cringed away from the light and loosened its hold on the three of us. We joined Hermione on the wall, free from the constricting plant.

Ron let out a sigh of relief and wiped the sweat from his forehead. "Lucky we didn't panic!" I narrowed my eyes and flicked him in the head again. He grasped the back of his head.

"_OW_! _Why do you keep on doing that_?"

"Lucky Hermione pays attention in Herbology," I remarked.

We followed the only way forward which was a narrow stone passage. The passageway was for the most part silent and sloped downward as it progressed. I was curious for what our next challenge would be; could it be battling a creature? Maybe they set the troll from Halloween in here…let's hope not. At the end of the passage was a brightly lit chamber with a ceiling that towered above us. In it were several gleaming birds of gold, silver and bronze that fluttered around the room in circles.

"D'you think they'll attack us if we cross the room?" Ron asked.

"Probably, but there's no other choice," Harry answered. He then covered his face with his arms and bolted across the room until he reached the huge doorway. None of the birds even considered bothering him. Realizing it was safe, Ron, Hermione and I followed hurriedly and assisted Harry with the massive door. It wouldn't budge.

"These birds can't be here for just decoration," Hermione commented. I observed the birds more closely—only to recognize them as not birds, but keys! Keys of many different sizes, colors, shapes and styles!

"Because they _aren't_ birds!" I told them. "Look, they're keys! That makes so much more sense!"

"And look! Broomsticks!" Harry exclaimed, pointing at a few broomsticks in the corner of the room. Harry ran to retrieve them and handed each of us one. Hermione became squeamish at the thought of flying. "We have to catch the right key!"

"But there are _hundreds_ of them!" said Hermione. Ron examined the keyhole carefully.

"We're looking for a big, old fashioned one—probably silver."

And so the four of us hopped on our broomsticks and took off into the mass of fluttering keys. I was a Beater, and therefore I did not have an eye like Harry's. Every key looked like a possibility to me to the point where I grabbed at any key that came into my view. Ron and Hermione apparently thought the same as me.

"That one!" Harry called out. "That one with the bright blue wings! Its feathers are all crumpled on one side—Snape's been here, he must have already caught it!" I tried to pick out where exactly he was pointing to—I just barely caught a glimpse of a bright winged silver key flying awkwardly. "Ron, you come at it from above! Hermione, you come at it from below! Lydia, I'm going to try to catch it from this side, so get onto the other side of it!"

As Ron and Hermione flew towards it in opposite directions, it dodged them and attempted to soar in my direction. It halted, twisted around only to fly right into Harry's open hand. I grinned. "Well that was a lot easier than expected!" I shouted.

We landed in unison and Harry immediately shoved the key into its lock. The locked clicked and the massive door swung open. The battered key went airborne once again. I kinda felt sorry for it!

Inside the next room was complete darkness—until we stepped into the room that is. With one step, the lights flickered on and revealed a gigantic chessboard. Every chess piece was at least 5 feet taller than us 11-12 year olds were and the individual squares could have been as long as our bodies if we were to lie down.

"I know what we have to do," Ron started, examining the chessboard. "We have to play our way across it. I think we're going to have to be chessmen." He stalked up to a black knight and touched the horse gently. It sprang to life and turned its gaze towards Ron. "Do we have to join you to get across?" The knight nodded.

Harry, Hermione and I stayed quiet, letting our friend plan out the strategy. Finally after about minute of his quiet muttering and contemplating he turned to us and ordered, "Harry, take the place of that bishop! Lydia and Hermione, take both of the castles! I'm going to be a knight." Both we and the chessmen did as he said. We moved into the spots as the chessmen slid off.

"White always moves first," Ron said. As predicted, a white pawn glided forward.

As the game went on, pieces and pieces of black chessmen stacked up. This chess was played exactly like wizard's chess—and the white showed no mercy. Ron played in return like a champion. There was almost as big a white pieces stack as there was a black. Ron darted farther and farther out onto the board and I was starting to get worried.

And my worries were confirmed as Ron spoke the thing I was dreading, "It's the only way…I've got to be taken."

"NO!" Harry and Hermione shouted.

"Ron, you could _die_!" I stuttered, frightened for my friend.

"That's chess!" he snapped. "You've got to make some sacrifices! Now do you want to stop Snape or not? She'll take me and that leaves you free to checkmate the king, Harry." I bit my lip nervously, almost bursting out in tears from anxiousness. I didn't want Ron to do this at all. What if the queen's blow was so harsh that he died from it? I didn't want to think about it. But I realized how incredibly brave Ron was for doing this.

Without another word, Ron stepped forward. Like before, the white queen showed no mercy. The queen smacked Ron hard across the head and he crashed to the floor. I jumped, about to cry. Hermione screamed. The only good thing is that he didn't seem dead.

Trembling, Harry moved close to the king and stated softly, "Checkmate." The king threw his crown at Harry's feet. We had won. Without thinking, I charged towards Ron and knelt down to examine the wound on his head. He was still breathing, but the blow to his head had knocked him out cold and caused his temple to bleed.

"Is he alright?" Hermione asked worriedly.

"Well, he's still alive. He's completely out though. And his head's bleeding," I told her and Harry. We couldn't just leave him here. What if he bled out? He needed to go to the hospital wing! I made a split second decision and looked up at my two best friends. "You two go ahead. Ron needs to go to the hospital wing—I dunno how bad this wound is."

"Lydia—are you sure?" Harry asked. I hated leaving him, especially in a situation like this—but I had to.

"Yes. I'm sure," I replied, standing up straight. I hugged both Harry and Hermione tightly—just in case. "But please,_ please_ promise me…promise me you'll both be extremely careful. Who knows what's down there."

"Of course," Hermione answered.

"And you too—getting back and all," Harry demanded. I nodded with a small smile and knelt back down to Ron. I watched Harry and Hermione disappear behind the small white door pass the white's side of the chessboard.

Carefully, I scooped my unconscious friend up into my arms (lucky a 12 year old boy isn't that heavy). And so I continued on the way we had came, scaling the walls farthest away from the keys, and continuing down the passageway before the Devil's Snare (it was much harder climbing up it with extra weight than clambering down). But when I reached the Devil's Snare, I was stuck. How in the world was I supposed to get up there, especially with Fluffy probably now awake and growling down the trapdoor?

I nearly jumped when I heard footsteps approaching me. I tried my best to pull out my wand with Ron still in my arms, and I failed badly. But I soon discovered I did not acquire it because the footsteps belonged to none other than Hermione, climbing her way up the passage. My eyes widened at the sight of her. Harry was not with her.

"Hermione, what are you doing back here? I thought you were with Harry?" I questioned her, bewildered.

"Snape's spell was a potion riddle. There was only enough for one person to go forward and one person to get back," she explained a nervous twinge in her voice.

"So…Harry went forward, but he can't—get back?" I asked with a gulp. Hermione nodded, her eyes filling with tears.

"—it'll be ok! I mean, he's Harry Potter...if he defeated Voldemort, he can handle Snape, right?" I rambled. Suddenly, a voice sounded from above us.

"Who's down there?" the female voice called. Hermione and I shared panicky glances.

"…Depends! Who's up there?" I responded.

There was a short pause. "_Miss Black_, is that _you_!" I would recognize my name said that sharply anywhere and I grinned.

"Professor McGonagall!" I cried out excitedly. "Yes, it's me! And Hermione Granger and Ron Weasley!"

"_Miss Black, what in the world are you doing down there?_" McGonagall shrieked angrily.

"No time for a lecture! How do we get up?"

"Step on the Devil's Snare, you three!" Professor Sprout's shrill voice rang out. "I promise; it's safe!"

With a guarded look at the creepy, treacherous plant, I unwillingly took a step onto it, Hermione following closely behind. This time, the plant did not seize our ankles or even move as it did before. Instead, it slowly started to rise. Higher and higher we went until we could see the faces of our teachers. Now Hermione and I were out of harm's way, but Harry wasn't!

I carefully passed Ron over to Hagrid, whose presence had calmed his oversized pet dog. Hermione and I were then helped out of the hole by McGonagall and Sprout, respectively. Flitwick stood aside, watching the scene carefully, but being too small to assist in anything.

"_What in the world were you three thinking_?" McGonagall growled furiously. "And _where's_ Potter? Mr. Longbottom told us that Potter was with you. I just know he's—"

"That's just _it_, Professor!" I screeched, not even caring that Neville had completely ratted us out. "Harry's still down there! He's facing off with Snape, right now, as we speak! He could be—"My lip quivered and I broke off my sentence to hold back a desperate sob. McGonagall, Sprout, Flitwick and Hagrid stared at me like I was insane.

"If I may point out, Black," sounded a cool voice from behind me. Hermione and I whirled around in shocked, our mouths hanging open, "that I am right here." And here he was. Snape in all of his royal greasy-ness. If Snape was up here, then Harry must be down there with—

"See, I told yeh all! I told yeh that it was crazy of yeh to suspect Professor Snape, an' I was righ', wasn' I?" Hagrid scolded us, but Hermione and I were not listening. A feeling of icy dread washed over me. No, no, this couldn't be happening. Hermione and I shared petrified glances. Together, I said, "_Voldemort_," and Hermione whispered, "_You-Know-Who!"_

"I beg your pardon?" McGonagall fumed.

"Harry is down there with Lord Voldemort, Professor! We_ have _to go back down there! We _have_ to save him! Please!" I said frantically.

"Harry's in so much trouble! He could be dead by now, Professor McGonagall!" Hermione continued hysterically. This time I couldn't stop the flow of tears that streamed down my cheeks. McGonagall looked about ready to breathe flames, when the doors opened again. I almost fell to the ground with relief at the sight of the Headmaster, Professor Dumbledore.

Dumbledore told all of us to stand back. He then lowered himself onto the Devil's Snare and proceeded to head into the hole and out of sight. He was going to retrieve Harry. Everything was going to be okay now that Dumbledore was here. Like Hermione had said, Dumbledore is the only person Voldemort was ever scared of…if nothing had happened already, Harry was safe.

Hermione and I and the remaining teachers left in the room were in a stunned silence. Suddenly, Professor Sprout investigated Ron, still in Hagrid's arms, whom remained unconscious and bleeding. "We must take this boy to the Hospital Wing. He's got a very nasty head wound. Tell me, girls, what exactly caused this?"

In an unsteady voice, I said, "He got beat in the head by a giant white queen." Professor Sprout blinked uncertainly at me, but nevertheless hauled Ron up onto her shoulder and charged off to the Hospital Wing where I knew at least one of my friends would be fine.

Still fuming, Professor McGonagall ordered us, "Go on, go with the Weasley boy. But until I find out exactly what went on down there, don't expect to be let off easily." I couldn't help but smile at my favorite teacher.

"Thank you, Professor," Hermione and I both muttered appreciatively. Hand in hand, we stumbled off after Professor Sprout, our mind dissolved deeply in our own jumbled thoughts. In the hospital wing, Madam Pomfrey managed to clean and heal Ron's wound. Though he remained unconscious, he was definitely going to be fine. Now Hermione and I only shared one question.

Where was Harry?

**I hope you liked this chapter! I really enjoyed writing it! :) Next chapter will be the LAST CHAPTER and it should be up in a few days…I'm on a writing kick! :D**

**And also please take a moment of silence for all those who lost their lives on this day 10 years ago, 9-11-01 ****3**

**CaptJess :)**


	16. Victory is Ours!

**Here it is…LAST CHAPTER! My readers, I LOVED writing this story and I'm so honored that you guys enjoy my writing and love my prized possession, Lydia Andromeda Black! I love writing about her and I really want to keep doing it! Therefore, add me to author alert and look forward to THE SEQUEL!**

**The basic summary of the sequel is…well, Chamber of Secrets! Haha! It might be a bit shorter than this one and the future ones but that's only because I don't find CoS as important as the rest of the books, haha. The sequel is most likely going to be called: ****The Second Black: Her Second Year****. Look forward to it! :)**

**Thank you to those that reviewed! :)**

**To SwordmasterZ: Thank you! And yes, I am. There's going to be a whole series with her! :)**

Chapter 16  
Victory is Ours!

We must have waited for around thirty minutes. In that amount of time, Ron had regained consciousness and kept a conversation with Hermione and me to pass time by. Madam Pomfrey hadn't fussed over Ron as much as she usually does with her patients. She however did scold him to rest as she slapped a white sticky patch over his healed wound.

And finally, just when my sickening worry started to overcome me, the doors to the Hospital Wing burst open. Dumbledore strolled in, carrying an unconscious Harry in his arms. I could have died with the relief I felt. Pomfrey crowded them both instantly, lying Harry limply on the bed next to Ron. We all rushed to him, wanting to slap him awake and make sure he was truly alright.

"Professor Dumbledore, what happened?" Hermione nearly screamed. Dumbledore's eyes kindly twinkled under his half-moon spectacles and he gestured with his head to Harry.

"I will leave that explanation to Harry here. I'm sure he'll tell the tale much better than I," he mused. What he didn't care to inform us is how long exactly my best friend would be unconscious. He began to walk away, leaving us to be alone with our friend, when I remembered something. Something I've been questioning for a long time that only Dumbledore would have the answer to.

Before he could get too far, I called out his name. He paused and turned to around to smile kindly at me and nod for me to continue. "Professor, there's something that I've been wondering about—for a little bit now."

"Ask away, Lydia," he answered in a certain tone that sounded as if he wanted nothing more than to hear my question.

"Okay, so, Hogwarts terms start on September 1st every year. Well, it's been pointed out to me that in order for me to be in this year with Harry and Ron and Hermione and the rest, I would have needed to be born before September 1st, 1980…However I was born September 5th, 1980," I explained. "So, why am I in this year? Why aren't I within the incoming students?"

He thought for a moment, searching for the correct response to give me. He said, "You and your closest friend live in the same house under the same guardians. I am indeed aware of how little you both are fond of the muggles Mr. and Mrs. Dursley. How fair would it be to you if you were to be left alone with a family you despise while your closest friend attends a magical school like Hogwarts?"

I considered this over in my head. "I'm in this year because of Harry? And because you knew how alone I'd be at the Dursley's house?" I clarified.

"In a simple matter, yes," Dumbledore replied. I blinked, surprised.

"Wow. T-thank you!" I said, astounded. Dumbledore smiled even wider, nodded his head once and turned to leave once again.

Pomfrey soon forced us out of the Hospital Wing, including Ron who she insisted was going to be fine within a few hours. And we, Ron, Hermione and I, all left, much more satisfied than we had been a few hours ago. At the end of the day, everything turned out okay.

Well, let's hope Harry wakes up soon—we've got a Quidditch match against Ravenclaw in two days!

~o~

Harry didn't awaken until three days later. By then, we had already played Ravenclaw (despite our best efforts, we lost. Not horribly though, only by a few points. This did mean, however, that Ravenclaw earned the Quidditch Cup), and the gossip about what had occurred three days ago with the Stone and Quirrell spread around the school like fire. I don't even know who started it—but whoever did, they're an idiot!

We were reluctantly let in my Madam Pomfrey to see Harry awake for the first time since that night. "Oh, Harry, we were so worried!" Hermione cried. I put on my best 'mom' face.

"What did I tell you about scaring me like this? Did we _not_ have this discussion before?" I yelled (quietly though, because Pomfrey was still watching us like a hawk). Harry laughed loudly.

"Sorry!"

"Ok, now you have to tell us what really happened!" Ron egged on. "The whole school's talking about it!"

Harry described all that had gone on with his encounter with whoever it was he was facing. He told us that it was Quirrell all along! He told us everything; right down to the Mirror of Erised (I thought that thing was _gone_!), to exactly what had happened to the stone, to Quirrell's death, and of course, the most dramatic occurrence. Lord Voldemort was underneath Quirrell's weird turban. I think all three of us gasped in fright and shock at that little fact.

"Dumbledore's destroying the Stone," Harry told us. "Flamel and his wife are going to die—but I think they're ok with it."

Ron's jaw dropped. "They're just going to—_die_?" Harry nodded casually as if a six hundred and sixty six year old man just dropped dead every other day.

"Anyway what happened to you three? Ron—is your head okay?" Harry asked, switching the topic with ease. Ron nodded, rubbing the patch on his temple.

"It's better. I still get a bit dizzy at times—Fred and George try to trip me when I do," Ron grumbled. I laughed, remembering when that had actually happened. Fred, George and I were back on speaking terms after they realized exactly how great of a friend I am and how tedious three detentions with Filch in a row really are.

"I carried him up to the Devil's Snare and Hermione came not long after," I told him. "The teachers were just—there. And then McGonagall tried to lecture us, yada yada, same old, same old—Snape was up there and nearly gave me a heart attack because he decided to _sneak up behind me_, the greasy idiot." Harry, Ron and Hermione were in hysterics at my commentary and I continued. "Then Dumbledore came bursting in without any form of explanation because, you know, he's Dumbledore, he doesn't _need _an explanation. And that's basically it, right Hermione?"

Giggling, Hermione answered, "Yeah, what she said."

~o~

Unsurprisingly and disappointedly, the Great Hall for the end of the year feast was embroidered with green and silver snake banners, along with a huge Serpent banner behind the High Table. It made me sick. I sat with Ron, Hermione, Fred, George and Jason at the Gryffindor table and blanched at the sight of the banners with them. I almost didn't want Harry to come to this feast to spare his eyes and appetite as well!

But nevertheless, Harry did show up and he wedged himself between Ron and I. The Great Hall hushed when they saw him wander in and even, much to my irritation, stood up to get good looks at him. Honestly, they've seen him before, they know what he looks like—I doubt he's changed much, people!

Dumbledore stepped up to his fascinating podium and immediately quiet fell over the crowd, wanting eagerly to hear what the Headmaster had to say. "Another year gone! And what a year it has been! Hopefully your heads are a little fuller than they were…you have the whole summer ahead to get them nice and empty before next year starts…"

A wave of giggles passed through the students. Dumbledore continued with a smile, "Now, the house cup needs awarding! In fourth place is Gryffindor, with three hundred and two points; in third, Hufflepuff with three hundred and ninety two; Ravenclaw, with four hundred and sixty six and Slytherin, five hundred and twelve points."

I wanted to throw up at the sight of the Slytherins (especially Draco Malfoy) banging their goblets on the table and cheering with glee. "Yes, well done Slytherin," Dumbledore applauded. I threw down my witch hat harshly on the Gryffindor table. This officially sucked.

"However, recent events must be taken into account."

The whole room fell dead silent, and the Slytherin smiles faded a bit. I perked up curiously. "I have a few last minute points to hand out…let's see—"

"First—to Mr. Ronald Weasley…"

Ron turned the shade of a radish.

"…for the best played game of chess Hogwarts has seen in years, I award Gryffindor…fifty points!" In one fluid movement, I scooped my hat up and tugged it back on my head hopefully. I reached over Harry to pat my other best friend on the back. The other three Weasley brothers—Percy, Fred and George—could be heard boasting proudly over Gryffindor's cheers.

"Second—to Miss Hermione Granger—for the use of cool logic in the face of fire, I award Gryffindor fifty points!"

The Gryffindor table screamed again. We were a hundred points up! We passed Hufflepuff. I hugged Hermione joyously and shortly afterward, she burst into tears.

"Third—to Miss Lydia Black—"

My insides gave a lurch at the sound of my name.

"—for fierce compassion and true friendship in the face of danger, I award Gryffindor fifty points!"

I laughed ecstatically. We had 452 points with my help! This could have been the most elated I had been all year! The twins and my cousin Jason bear hugged me and my other friends either thanked or hugged me. Dumbledore spoke again when Gryffindor had calmed once again.

"Fourth—to Mr. Harry Potter—for pure nerve and outstanding courage, I award Gryffindor house sixty points."

The noise that sounded from the Gryffindor table was deafening. "_We're tied with Slytherin_!" several Gryffindors, including Hermione, shouted jubilantly. But suddenly my heart sank; we were only tied with Slytherin—we hadn't won. If we had just one more point…but who in the world would he give it to? Dumbledore held up his hand for silence, and the whole Hall obeyed instantaneously.

"There are all kinds of courage…It takes a great deal of bravery to stand up to our enemies, but it takes even more bravery to stand up to our friends. Therefore, I award ten points…to Mr. Neville Longbottom."

Imagine being at a concert—remember the screams? What erupted from the Gryffindor table might have been slightly quieter than those screams or maybe an explosion. I nearly lost my voice screaming piercingly! Pretty much every single Gryffindor and even some Ravenclaws and Hufflepuff clambered over to hug a shocked Neville, I included. I hugged him tightly and let go yelling over the cheers, "I LOVE YOU!" He turned very red.

"Which means we need a little change of decoration," Dumbledore called, his eyes twinkling with delight. He clapped his hands once and to my greatest delight, all the green and silver disappeared from the Great Hall and were replaced by a prideful red and gold, along with a grinning majestic lion taking the place of the serpent.

Our hats all flew high up into the ceiling and poured down on us like rain—this was possible the best end to a school year _EVER_!

~o~

On the last two days of school, our exams results had been received (I did surprisingly, amazing! Even in History of Magic and Potions! I got at least an Exceeds in every single class…and an O in Defense Against the Dark Arts!), our trunks had been packed, notes warning us not to do magic over the holidays were passed out and Neville's toad was found!

Honestly, I didn't think anything could bring me down ever since Gryffindor made that amazing comeback with the House Cup! I still couldn't believe I had earned Gryffindor 50 points! I think my parents would be proud of me, I hope. Maybe when I got to meet my mother (as she mentioned in her letter back in September), I'd tell her all about that day. My dad? I dunno. But I'd let time play out on its own, I thought as I clutched my diamond-eyed dog necklace.

Someone shoved into my shoulder harshly and I snapped back to reality. I snarled at Malfoy's retreating form. "Watch it, Malfoy! What, has your grief blinded you?"

I sneered at me coolly. "You watch it! You were in my way!"

I rolled my eyes. "Oh, you're just sour because Slytherin lost to Gryffindor for the first time and _you_ were never there to see Slytherin win in the first place!" I smirked and crossed my arms over my chest proudly.

He narrowed his eyes coldly. "Just you wait, cousin. Time will play out."

My breath caught in my throat and I nearly choked on my own spit. I stared at him with wide eyes. "E-excuse me? _What_ did you just call me?"

Malfoy smirked calmly. "Oh, you didn't know? We're cousins—that's right. Second cousins to be exact. My mother and your father were first cousins—they hated each other. Coincidence, huh?"

My mouth hung open. This couldn't be happening…why me? "There is no way in _hell _that we are related!"

"Get used to it. I did. Most pureblood families are that way. You're only half-blood because of your mudblood mother," he snapped. I was half-blood? And my mother was a _what_? What the bloody hell was a mudblood? We both heard the Hogwarts Express whistle blow noisily and Malfoy started to turn away. "See you next year, cousin. Enjoy your filthy muggles." He cracked up and left without another word.

I stood there soundlessly and in shock and kinda disgust. Harry, Ron and Hermione eventually approached me. "Come on, Lydia, were going to be late!" Hermione ushered, taking me by the arm and dragging me to the train. The boys seemed to be the only two that took note of Malfoy.

"What'd Malfoy want?" Ron questioned me, his tone bitter.

"…I am scarred…I am mentally and emotionally scarred…" I trailed slowly. My three best friends looked at me oddly.

"What _happened_?" Harry asked. I looked at him fearfully.

"_That_ thing…is my cousin…"

The three of them gasped horrifically. "Bloody hell! And here I was thinking that you were somewhat alright! First you're related to Sirius Black and now _this_!" At this, I snapped out of my trance and glared at Ron for a moment, and (as he should have expected) flicked him hard in the back of the head.

"_OW! STOP THAT!"_

"You completely had that one coming Ronald…"

"That _hurts_!"

"Well, think before you speak!"

"You're bloody mad, you are!"

"And it took you _this _long to realize that?"

Harry and Hermione watched the scene with utter amusement.

"Hey! On the train! You guys are going to miss it!" Jason called, shoving all four of us onto the train and following us into a compartment.

"What's got you so eager?" I asked. Jason grinned handsomely.

"Practicing—I'm due to be a prefect next year—just thought I'd get a head start!"

The train ride back was the same as our original train ride—except for the fact that we all knew each other know. We played Exploding Snap with the Weasley twins and nibbled on our awesome wizard snacks. It wasn't long before we had pulled up to Platform 9 ¾ at King's Cross station. We arrived way sooner than I would have liked!

Harry and I official met Ron's mother for the first time—we had thanked her for the Christmas presents and she invited us to stay any time we'd like. When we had first clambered out onto the platform, Ginny, Ron's little sister shrieked, "Look, there he is! Harry Potter, there he is! Look!"

"Be quiet, Ginny, it's rude to point," scolded Molly Weasley.

"Aww, she's so adorable!" I said to Ron.

"Yeah, adorable, _that's_ what she is," Ron replied sarcastically. I chuckled.

"Well, adorable or not, she has a little crush on Harry it seems," I said, nudging Harry with my elbow.

"Ready are you?" I groaned at the voice that was like nails on a chalkboard to my ears. It was Vernon, looking as piggy as ever. And behind him, his disgusting pig family Petunia and Dudley.

"Whatever," I mumbled in response.

"You must be Harry's family! And Lydia's foster family!" Molly Weasley said friendlily. The pig didn't return the tone at all. He was more interested in glaring at Harry and I and our owls.

"In a matter of speaking," he replied gruffly. "Come on, you two, we haven't got all day." I rolled my eyes at my friends. I wanted so badly to leave with them instead. To stop myself from dropping to my knees and begging 'take me with you, take me with you!', I bid goodbye to Jason first who left to find his family. I could help but thinking that my mum was most likely one of the people he'd be greeting. But that's ok—my day would come to meet her.

When Fred and George had given me a double cheek kiss, I hung back with Harry to say goodbye to Ron and Hermione.

"See you over the summer. I really hope all three of you can come at some point," Ron said.

"Hope you have a—good holiday," Hermione said uncertainly, staring astounded at Vernon. Harry grinned, and I raised a curious brow.

"Oh, we will," Harry replied.

"…We will?" I questioned.

"_They _don't know we're not allowed to do magic at home. I'm going to have a lot of fun with Dudley this summer…" Harry and I grinned mischievously at one another.

…

"I _love_ the way your mind works, Potter."

**THE END!**

**Thank you SO much for reading and reviewing! I appreciate it so much!**

**Remember to add me to author alerts and look for ****The Second Black: Her Second Year****! It shouldn't take too long to come out! Like I said, I'm on an HP writing kick!**

**CaptJess :)**


End file.
